Evaluating perception in driving simulation experiments

Abstract

The use of driving simulation for vehicle design and driver perception studies is expanding rapidly. This is largely because simulation saves engineering time and costs, and can be used for studies of road and traffic safety. How applicable driving simulation is to the real world is unclear however, because analyses of perceptual criteria carried out in driving simulation experiments are controversial. On the one hand, recent data suggest that, in driving simulators with a large field of view, longitudinal speed can be estimated correctly from visual information. On the other hand, recent psychophysical studies have revealed an unexpectedly important contribution of vestibular cues in distance perception and steering, prompting a re-evaluation of the role of visuo-vestibular interaction in driving simulation studies.Vehicle driving implies perception and control of selfmotion at a greater range of velocities than locomotion by walking. It is often considered to be a task dominated by visual information. However, it is well-established that other sensory information, such as that provided by the vestibular and PROPRIOCEPTIVE (see Glossary) channels, also contributes to the perception and control of selfmotion. Motivated by a recent renewed interest in the role and function of these non-visual sensory modalities, we aim in this review to re-evaluate the role of visuovestibular interactions in driving simulation experiments, and to assess how applicable driving simulation is to the real world for studies of vehicle dynamics or driver behaviour.In 1938 Gibson [1] proposed a psychophysical theory of perception for automobile-driving, defining a 'terrain of field of space' for the driver, with the car considered as a tool of locomotion and the driver aiming to drive in the middle of a 'field of safe travel'. In 1950 he described the visual perception of space [2] based on visual depth, distance or orientation stimulus variables. OPTIC FLOW, one of the most important visual cues he proposed, is defined as the visual motion experienced as a result of walking or driving, and it is thought to play a dominant role in the control of heading [3] and collision detection [4 -7]. However, regarding the control of the direction of movement in natural environments (i.e. walking), there is still disagreement over whether the structure of the flow [8,9] or the visual EGOCENTRIC DIRECTION per se [10,11] is the dominant source of information. It is not clear either whether the same strategies used for natural locomotion apply to driving situations where displacements occur at higher velocities. Interestingly, a new point of view on these controversial issues was recently provided by experiments performed in driving simulators [12]. However, Gibson's original theory also included a definition of the perceptual field of the car itself, bringing to the driver kinaesthetic and tactile cues. These ideas were applied to driving simulation from the early 1980s [13][14][15], and since then many simulator experiments have been carried out for...

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