With highly automated vehicles (HAVs), the human role shifts from active driver to mostly passive passenger, which has an impact on the perceived comfort while being driven. A number of factors need to be taken into account when designing an automated driving style (ADS) with the aim to minimize human discomfort. In this paper, the authors build on seven empirical studies to determine first, if a generally comfortable ADS exists and second, whether such an ADS should be designed depending on situational driving dynamics or individual user characteristics such as users’ manual driving styles. The results give an overview of the ADS- and user-related factors causing human discomfort in automated driving and provide potential strategies to overcome potential discomfort. Drawing on the data, upcoming challenges in the field of human discomfort in HAVs for both research and practice are presented.

Due to the COVID-19 lockdowns and the related mandated work for home, we have seen a massive increase of the use of collaboration tools in various work settings in the last 18 months. Whereas this might have been a new terrain for some, IT-supported work and the related research domain Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) have been around for decades. In this article we briefly review what CSCW has to offer for the currently increasing demand in setting up remote collaboration – and share our own observations about what happened when collaboration tools have been introduced in the pandemic. As a summary, we present some learnings from the experience – both for the current state of CSCW research and for future work.

In an increasingly urban and sustainable transportation-focused world, cycling emerges as a key environmentally friendly and health-promoting mode of travel. This paper addresses the gap in understanding cyclists' subjective safety, particularly in relation to bicycle streets in Germany. Utilizing a multimodal approach, two studies were conducted: an online questionnaire (Study I) and a Virtual Reality (VR) evaluation (Study II), focusing on the Reichenhainer Straße in Chemnitz. Study I involved N = 182 participants who regularly used the bicycle street. The questionnaire covered various aspects including mobility behavior, cycling experience, and subjective safety, using a 6-point Likert scale. Infrastructure characteristics were represented through images. Results showed that participants generally felt safe on the bicycle street, with key factors being the lane width and restrictions on motorized traffic. Study II, a pioneering effort in using VR and stereoscopic 360° images for evaluating cycling infrastructure safety, involved N = 32 participants. It provided a realistic evaluation of infrastructure elements and their impact on perceived safety. The study revealed significant differences in safety ratings based on the presence of cars and cyclists' experience levels. The use of VR allowed for a focused examination of infrastructure characteristics and their perceived safety, highlighting potential areas for improvement. Both studies demonstrated consistent results, underscoring the subjective safety of the Reichenhainer Straße, which was perceived as safer than the average bike-accessible infrastructure in Chemnitz. The VR method proved effective for detailed evaluation of subjective safety, independent of participants' familiarity with the specific infrastructure. This approach offers a structured, controlled, and resource-efficient way to evaluate cycling infrastructure under laboratory conditions. In conclusion, the findings align with existing literature and emphasize the importance of lane width and reduced motorized traffic for cyclists' safety. The innovative VR method, while still developing, offers promising implications for future citizen participation initiatives and infrastructure planning projects, enabling efficient post-completion evaluations of subjective safety. Such practices are rare in German planning offices, highlighting the paper's contribution to enhancing urban cycling infrastructure planning and safety assessment.

Kunden und externe Partner stellen eine wichtige Informationsquelle für neue Produkt- und Dienstleistungskonzepte dar. Ihre aktive Einbindung in den Innovationsprozess wird als »Open Innovation« bezeichnet. Zahlreiche IT-basierte Werkzeuge unterstützen heute Open Innovation als Komponente des betrieblichen Innovationsmanagements. Unter den möglichen Methoden zur Einbindung Externer kommt IT-basierten, online durchgeführten Innovationswettbewerben eine besonders prominente Rolle zu. Die Bewertung der im Rahmen von Innovationswettbewerben generierten Innovationsvorschläge wird heute meist unternehmensinternen Experten überlassen. Sie folgt damit dem klassischen Paradigma der geschlossenen Bewertung. Experten besitzen jedoch nur eine begrenzte Vorhersagegüte und stehen extern generierten Innovationen oft ablehnend gegenüber. Auch die Quantität der zu bewertenden Innovationen stellt eine Herausforderung dar. Es liegt daher nahe zu prüfen, inwieweit eine offene Innovationsbewertung durch die Teilnehmer eines Innovationswettbewerbs oder andere Interessengruppen — anstelle von internen Experten — erfolgen könnte. In Anlehnung an das Paradigma der Open Innovation sprechen wir im Falle der Einbindung Externer in den Bewertungsprozess von Open Evaluation. Der vorliegende Beitrag erörtert Grundlagen, Ausprägungsformen und Erfolgschancen offener Innovationsbewertung mittels Open Evaluation und zeigt das Potenzial und die Grenzen dieses IT-basierten Ansatzes für die Bewertung innovativer Konzepte anhand von fünf Fallstudien auf.

Virtual reality training simulations to acquire surgical skills are important for increasing patient safety and save valuable resources, e.g., cadavers, supervision and operating room time. However, as surgery is a craft, simulators must not only provide a high degree of visual realism, but especially a realistic haptic behavior. While such simulators exist for surgeries like laparoscopy or arthroscopy, other surgical fields, especially where large forces need to be exerted, like total hip arthroplasty (THA; implantation of a hip joint protheses), lack realistic VR training simulations. In this paper we present for the first time a novel VR training simulation for the five steps of THA (from femur head resection to stem implantation) with realis-tic haptic feedback. To achieve this, a novel haptic hammering device, an upgraded version of the Virtuose 6D haptic device from Haption, novel algorithms for collision detection, haptic rendering, and material removal are introduced. In a study with 17 surgeons of diverse experience levels, we confirmed the realism, usefulness and usability of our novel methods.

Handing over objects is a collaborative task that requires participants to synchronize their actions in terms of space and time, as well as their adherence to social standards. If one participant is a social robot and the other a visually impaired human, actions should favorably be coordinated by voice. User requirements for such a Voice-User Interface (VUI), as well as its required structure and content, are unknown so far. In our study, we applied the user-centered design process to develop a VUI for visually impaired humans and humans with full sight. Iterative development was conducted with interviews, workshops, and user tests to derive VUI requirements, dialog structure, and content. A final VUI prototype was evaluated in a standardized experiment with 60 subjects who were visually impaired or fully sighted. Results show that the VUI enabled all subjects to successfully receive objects with an error rate of only 1.8%. Likeability and accuracy were evaluated best, while habitability and speed of interaction were shown to need improvement. Qualitative feedback supported and detailed results, e.g., how to shorten some dialogs. To conclude, we recommend that inclusive VUI design for social robots should give precise information for handover processes and pay attention to social manners.