A mixed-method approach to investigate the public acceptance of drones

Drones may play an essential role in future traffic. As with every innovation, not only is the technical maturity decisive for its success, but also whether the general public will accept it. This paper uses a mixed-method approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate social acceptance concerning drones. The study included 20 participants and comprised a virtual simulation, a team task, and a group discussion. This way, different aspects of drone acceptance were investigated. On the one hand, a simulative approach was tested to explore the visual perception of drone flights in an urban setting. On the other hand, the acceptance of various drone applications such as civil protection, parcel delivery, and air taxis was studied. Furthermore, this research identified requirements for coordinating and managing future drone traffic. This paper combines two acceptance models from the literature as a theoretical framework: an adoption of Chamata’s and Winterton’s Technical Acceptance Model by Krempel and the Unacceptability–Acceptance Scale by Hofinger.