A solution to the rear-vision problem in a fixed-base driving simulator

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guihua Yang ◽  
Farnaz Baniahmad ◽  
Beverly K. Jaeger ◽  
Ronald R. Mourant
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
René Reinhard ◽  
Ender Tutulmaz ◽  
Hans M. Rutrecht ◽  
Patricia Hengstenberg ◽  
Britta Geissler ◽  
...  

Objective: The study explores associations of visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) with emergency braking reaction times (RTs) in driving simulator studies. It examines the effects over the progression of multiple simulated drives. Background: Driving simulator usage has many advantages for RT studies; however, if it induces VIMS, the observed driving behavior might deviate from real-world driving, potentially masking or skewing results. Possible effects of VIMS on RT have long been entertained, but the progression of VIMS across simulated drives has so far not been sufficiently considered. Method: Twenty-eight adults completed six drives on 2 days in a fixed-base driving simulator. At five points during each drive, pedestrians entered the road, necessitating emergency braking maneuvers. VIMS severity was assessed every minute using the 20-point Fast Motion Sickness Scale. The progression of VIMS was considered in mixed model analyses. Results: RT predictions were improved by considering VIMS development over time. Here, the relationship of VIMS and RT differed across days and drives. Increases in VIMS symptom severity predicted more prolonged RT after repeated drives on a given day and earlier within each drive. Conclusion: The assessment of VIMS in RT studies can be beneficial. In this context, VIMS measurements in close temporal proximity to the behaviors under study are promising and offer insights into VIMS and its consequences, which are not readily obtainable through questionnaires. Application: Driving simulator–based RT studies should consider cumulative effects of VIMS on performance. Measurement and analysis strategies that consider the time-varying nature of VIMS are recommended.


2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. de Groot ◽  
M. Mulder ◽  
P. A. Wieringa

Motion platforms can be used to provide vestibular cues in a driving simulator, and have been shown to reduce driving speed and acceleration. However, motion platforms are expensive devices, and alternatives for providing motion cues need to be investigated. In independent experiments, the following eight low-cost nonvestibular motion cueing systems were tested by comparing driver performance to control groups driving with the cueing system disengaged: (1) seat belt tensioning system, (2) vibrating steering wheel, (3) motion seat, (4) screeching tire sound, (5) beeping sound, (6) road noise, (7) vibrating seat, and (8) pressure seat. The results showed that these systems are beneficial in reducing speed and acceleration and that they improve lane-keeping and/or stopping accuracy. The seat belt tensioning system had a particularly large influence on driver braking performance. This system reduced driving speed, increased stopping distance, reduced maximum deceleration, and increased stopping accuracy. It is concluded that low-cost nonvestibular motion cueing may be a welcome alternative for improving in-simulator performance so that it better matches real-world driving performance.


Author(s):  
Ronald R. Mourant ◽  
Praveen Sadhu

Eight participants drove a fixed base simulator using both spring-loaded and force feedback steering wheels. Their route included curves of 100, 200 and 300 radii of curvature, and two freeway style exit ramps that were sloped, banked and, had changing radii of curvature. Both mean and variance of lane position were calculated. There were no differences in terms of mean and variance of lane position between the steering wheels when driving on straight road segments. Lane position variance was significantly greater when driving on the 100 meter curves then when driving of the 200 and 300 meter curves. Drivers “hugged” left hand curves more when using the force feedback steering wheel as indicated by their average lane position being significantly more to the left. On the two right hand exit ramps, drivers drove significantly more to the left when using the force feedback steering wheel. Subjects rated the force feedback steering wheel higher in terms of realism, maneuverability, and vehicle control on a post-experiment questionnaire.


Author(s):  
Amirreza Nickkar ◽  
Mansoureh Jeihani ◽  
Sina Sahebi

Driving simulators can provide safe real-world driving conditions that may help researchers study driving behavior; however, driving simulator sickness (DSS) has been recognized as one of the most frequent challenges associated with using driving simulators. The DSS issue may affect the validity and reliability of results obtained during the driving simulator experience. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the potential consequences of DSS in the virtual environment of a driving simulator. The goal of this study is to analyze DSS symptoms among participants of a driving simulator by their demographics. The samples of four simulator studies were combined, including a total of 259 participants who were recruited from different socio-demographic backgrounds and drove a fixed-base driving simulator. All these studies used the same proportion of mixed urban and suburban content in designing the simulation environments of the experiments. A DSS questionnaire based on the standard Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) has been used to measure the severity of DSS symptoms—general discomfort, fatigue, headache, eyestrain, blurred vision, salivation, sweating, dizziness, and nausea—among participants. This study applies zero-inflated ordered probit and ordered probit models to evaluate the possible statistical relationships between demographic characteristics and experiment duration, and DSS symptoms. The results show that there is a positive direct statistical relationship between the duration of the experiment and DSS. Also, older participants have more general discomfort, fatigue, blurred vision, and headache symptoms with DSS than do younger ones. Similarly, female participants experience headache and nausea symptoms more than men do.


1992 ◽  
Vol 36 (18) ◽  
pp. 1378-1382 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.K. Caird ◽  
P.A. Hancock

An experiment was conducted in a fixed-base driving simulator which manipulated the time-to-arrival (Ta) of an oncoming vehicle, the viewing distance to that vehicle and the type of oncoming vehicle to determine the perceptual basis for a left-turn decision. Forty-eight participants were randomly assigned to a group where either a motorcycle, a compact car, a full-size car, or delivery truck represented the oncoming vehicle. There were an equal number of participants of each gender in the four groups. As Ta was increased, underestimation of vehicle arrival time also increased. Significant main effects were found for Ta, gender of participants, vehicle type, and viewing distance, and for interactions for gender x Ta and gender x vehicle type. Males and females differed in their accuracy of judgments for vehicle types, where males were more accurate in estimating the arrival of delivery vans and motorcycles than their female peers. The pattern of results for the size of the approach vehicle were consistent with a margin-of-safety explanation which argues that driver underestimation of the arrival times of larger vehicles generally allows larger margins-of-safety than for smaller vehicles. The importance of these findings for the development of advanced in-vehicle collision avoidance and warning systems is briefly considered.


Author(s):  
Thomas A. Ranney ◽  
Anthony J. Masalonis ◽  
Lucinda A. Simmons

Nine hypotheses concerning the immediate and long-term effects of glare were tested in a fixed-base truck simulator. Eight subjects completed two 4-hr sessions. During one session, simulated headlight glare from following vehicles was presented intermittently in the cab's side mirrors. Designated targets, including pedestrians and vehicles in the mirrors, were presented at the beginning, middle, end, or 5 sec following glare episodes. Response times and accuracy for detecting targets were recorded. Target detection in the presence of glare was slower than in the absence of glare. Pedestrians appearing in the middle of a glare episode were detected faster than those appearing at glare onset, indicating adaptation to glare. Target detection following a 5-sec recovery period was faster than for targets appearing immediately following the glare episode. A longer recovery period did not provide an additional benefit. Glare episode duration did not affect target-detection speed following the glare. Performance did not deteriorate over the course of the glare session, indicating no cumulative effect of glare on target detection. Overall, the impairment effects associated with glare were not as strong and consistent as in previous laboratory studies. Differences in attentional demands between laboratory studies and driving were used to explain these differences.


Author(s):  
Diego Gonzalez ◽  
Danielle Filio ◽  
Lynn Dony ◽  
Michele Oliver

The purpose of this work was to compare simulator and surface electromyography (sEMG) variables between fixed base (FBDS) and dynamic driving (DDS) simulation conditions using a hexapod robot based driving simulator during 90 degree turning manoeuvers. Nine males and nine females, who wore a light-weight head mounted display to provide the visual input, drove faster in the DDS leading to faster turn exit velocities and turn completion times. For sEMG variables, one of the most common findings was that when making left turns, higher muscle activity was observed in the DDS. This suggests that DDS driving does differ from FBDS driving. Information provided by this work shows that simulator movement affects muscle activation, therefore, care should be taken when interpreting results from FBDS to not assume that similar results would be found in DDS, and by extension naturalistic driving.


Author(s):  
René Reinhard ◽  
Hans M. Rutrecht ◽  
Patricia Hengstenberg ◽  
Ender Tutulmaz ◽  
Britta Geissler ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Jan B.F. van Erp

Remote vision for steering unmanned vehicles is generally facilitated by on-board cameras. Due to limited bandwidth data-links, a trade-off exists between spatial and temporal image resolution. In the present experiment, objective performance of military driving instructors was measured on a standardized task-battery in a fixed-base driving simulator. The results showed that the optimum choice of spatial and temporal resolution is task specific. The lack of an interaction between both the factors pleads for some provision for the operator to modify these parameters when switching between tasks.


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