Measurement and Interpretation of Driver/Vehicle System Dynamic Response

This paper summarizes applicable theory and data from simulation experiments on the directional control of automobiles subjected to crosswind gust disturbances. Measured driver/vehicle describing functions for several subjects and replications are presented and interpreted. It is shown that the driver's steering outputs can be explained as functions of lateral position and heading, although alternate interpretations involving path-angle and path-rate feedbacks are considered. The results demonstrate that driver/vehicle response properties can be modeled and measured for a class of important closed-loop driving tasks. They provide further direct experimental verification of the applicability of driver/vehicle theory to situations where the driver obtains his information from a real-world visual simulation.