To make the study more authentic to our self-driving future, the Intel Autonomous Driving Group created a ride-hailing app similar to Uber; the first autonomous cars on the road will most likely be part of a taxi service, after all. The participants were interviewed before, during and after the trip about how they felt about self-driving vehicles. After a ride in the backseat, the participants all said they were happy to allow robots to roll them around town.

Some of the other feedback Intel got from the test is pretty eye-opening, though. For example, the passengers felt like they didn’t need to be shown everything the car was doing, as it was too distracting. Also, having the steering wheel, moving by itself, in the car actually added to the anxiety, and the riders said it would be better if it were removed altogether.