Meeting Important Cuing Requirements with Modest, Real-Time, Interactive Driving Simulations

Interactive simulation requires providing appropriate sensory cuing and stimulus/response dynamics to the driver. Sensory feedback can include visual, auditory, motion, and proprioceptive cues. Stimulus/response dynamics involve reactions of the feedback cuing to driver control inputs including steering, throttle and brakes. The stimulus/response dynamics include both simulated vehicle dynamics, and the response dynamics of the simulation hardware including computer processing delays. Typically, simulation realism will increase with sensory fidelity and stimulus/response dynamics that are equivalent to real-world conditions (i.e. without excessive time delay or phase lag).

This paper discusses requirements for sensory cuing and stimulus/response dynamics in real-time, interactive driving simulation, and describes a modest fixed-base (i.e. no motion) device designed with these considerations in mind. The simulation includes reasonably complex and validated vehicle dynamics, and visual, auditory and steering force-feel cuing. Compensation is also provided for computational delays. The simulation has been used in research applications, and as a means for screening drivers for impairment. The modest and successful nature of this approach suggests that driving simulation might find wide application in research, training and screening applications where cost is an important consideration.