Studying freeway merging conflicts using virtual reality technology

Xu, Zheng; Zou, Xin; Oh, Taeho; Vu, Hai L.

doi:10.1016/j.jsr.2020.11.002

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The advantages of using VR are 1) to visualize the virtual road traffic environment in real time in an immersive manner from different perspectives, and 2) displaying the data generated from the virtual sensors and creating graphical renderings, such as graphs and charts. In the context of highway scenarios, Xu et al (2020) et al (2018) showed that game-theoretic approaches have the potential to power local cooperation between traffic participants using social interaction concepts. Mixing the virtual and real world, using so-called digital twins, is accomplished by Szalai et al (2020) in the form of testing a real vehicle in a virtual environment.…”

Section: Traffic Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Virtual Reality Applications for Automated Driving: 2009–2020

2021

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While virtual reality (VR) interfaces have been researched extensively over the last decades, studies on their application in vehicles have only recently advanced. In this paper, we systematically review 12 years of VR research in the context of automated driving (AD), from 2009 to 2020. Due to the multitude of possibilities for studies with regard to VR technology, at present, the pool of findings is heterogeneous and non-transparent. We investigated N = 176 scientific papers of relevant journals and conferences with the goal to analyze the status quo of existing VR studies in AD, and to classify the related literature into application areas. We provide insights into the utilization of VR technology which is applicable at specific level of vehicle automation and for different users (drivers, passengers, pedestrians) and tasks. Results show that most studies focused on designing automotive experiences in VR, safety aspects, and vulnerable road users. Trust, simulator and motion sickness, and external human-machine interfaces (eHMIs) also marked a significant portion of the published papers, however a wide range of different parameters was investigated by researchers. Finally, we discuss a set of open challenges, and give recommendation for future research in automated driving at the VR side of the reality-virtuality continuum.

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Section: Traffic Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Virtual Reality Applications for Automated Driving: 2009–2020

2021

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“…The complicated rendering process also presents challenges for hardware to calculate the environment in every frame; consequently, the resolution is negatively affected after the system has been operating for a long time. Besides, state-ofthe-art modelling skills are entailed to guarantee a high-immersion virtual environment, thereby contributing to a better-validated outcome [14,17,33]. Secondly, the VR training session in this study was delivered using a wireless VR goggle associated with one controller; however the platform was still a relatively fixed one and participants were not allowed to move around in the real world, which reduced the realism of the immersive experience.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The immersive experience provided by VR allows people to interact with various virtual objects under different circumstances, and VR technology has been proven to be particularly useful for educational and training purposes [12][13][14][15][16][17]. For example, a trench safety direction was designed for students to experience fall, struck-by, and caught-in hazards [12]; a collaborative game was created for tower crane operating instruction and safety education [13]; a training system was created for testing trainees' attention and concentration while conducting concrete works in a severe environment [14]; a serious gaming environment was built for students to understand safety material, rules, stipulations delivered on a smartphone [15]; a serious game was created using immersive virtual reality to analyze earthquake behavioral responses and post-earthquake evacuation preparedness [16]; and an exquisitely designed integrated VR simulation platform was used for road crash avoidance that relates to freeway merging [17]. Most of these studies highlighted human-machine interaction instead of mutual influences between users, which contributed to a common limitation of single-player involvement [12,[14][15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, a trench safety direction was designed for students to experience fall, struck-by, and caught-in hazards [12]; a collaborative game was created for tower crane operating instruction and safety education [13]; a training system was created for testing trainees' attention and concentration while conducting concrete works in a severe environment [14]; a serious gaming environment was built for students to understand safety material, rules, stipulations delivered on a smartphone [15]; a serious game was created using immersive virtual reality to analyze earthquake behavioral responses and post-earthquake evacuation preparedness [16]; and an exquisitely designed integrated VR simulation platform was used for road crash avoidance that relates to freeway merging [17]. Most of these studies highlighted human-machine interaction instead of mutual influences between users, which contributed to a common limitation of single-player involvement [12,[14][15][16][17]. Furthermore, VR training applications have been utilized in other scientific fields, such as for medical surgery [18,19], manufacturing [20], and military operations [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Incorporating Virtual Reality Technology in Safety Training Solution for Construction Site of Urban Cities

Zheng

2020

Sustainability

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The lack of experiential training has become the primary cause of incidents that could have been easily avoided in construction areas, and the implementation of experimental training is crucial in minimizing incidents at construction sites. The limitation on the available training tools has made it impossible to build up a real test site or reproduce the constructing scenarios. This research aims to develop an immersive and interactive multiplayer-based training platform that incorporates virtual reality (VR) technology to improve the safety awareness of workers. The developed simulation platform serves as a training solution, enabling the provision of repeatable and flexible procedures within a secure environment. An evaluation survey was conducted to make a comparison between traditional training methods and the proposed VR solution. Promisingly, the results indicate that workers were better trained under the developed immersive environment, and they could memorize critical points more effectively because the implementation of VR technology can allow people to experience hazardous situations without being physically injured, thus creating a safer and more efficient training environment. This study reveals that the nomination of the proposed VR platform could reap many benefits and become an advantageous tool for construction training, as well as stimulate human-machine interaction research.

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“…Referring to environmental dynamics in real-world case studies, Xu et al (2021) incorporated traffic flow dynamics from PTV VISSIM into the VR-enabled simulation platform. Using such a platform, simulation quality could be improved by optimizing traffic representations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analyzing the inconsistency in driving patterns between manual and autonomous modes under complex driving scenarios with a VR-enabled simulation platform

Fang

Zheng

et al. 2022

JICV

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Purpose With the aid of naturalistic simulations, this paper aims to investigate human behavior during manual and autonomous driving modes in complex scenarios. Design/methodology/approach The simulation environment is established by integrating virtual reality interface with a micro-simulation model. In the simulation, the vehicle autonomy is developed by a framework that integrates artificial neural networks and genetic algorithms. Human-subject experiments are carried, and participants are asked to virtually sit in the developed autonomous vehicle (AV) that allows for both human driving and autopilot functions within a mixed traffic environment. Findings Not surprisingly, the inconsistency is identified between two driving modes, in which the AV’s driving maneuver causes the cognitive bias and makes participants feel unsafe. Even though only a shallow portion of the cases that the AV ended up with an accident during the testing stage, participants still frequently intervened during the AV operation. On a similar note, even though the statistical results reflect that the AV drives under perceived high-risk conditions, rarely an actual crash can happen. This suggests that the classic safety surrogate measurement, e.g. time-to-collision, may require adjustment for the mixed traffic flow. Research limitations/implications Understanding the behavior of AVs and the behavioral difference between AVs and human drivers are important, where the developed platform is only the first effort to identify the critical scenarios where the AVs might fail to react. Practical implications This paper attempts to fill the existing research gap in preparing close-to-reality tools for AV experience and further understanding human behavior during high-level autonomous driving. Social implications This work aims to systematically analyze the inconsistency in driving patterns between manual and autopilot modes in various driving scenarios (i.e. multiple scenes and various traffic conditions) to facilitate user acceptance of AV technology. Originality/value A close-to-reality tool for AV experience and AV-related behavioral study. A systematic analysis in relation to the inconsistency in driving patterns between manual and autonomous driving. A foundation for identifying the critical scenarios where the AVs might fail to react.

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Studying freeway merging conflicts using virtual reality technology

Cited by 18 publications

References 51 publications

A Systematic Review of Virtual Reality Applications for Automated Driving: 2009–2020

A Systematic Review of Virtual Reality Applications for Automated Driving: 2009–2020

Incorporating Virtual Reality Technology in Safety Training Solution for Construction Site of Urban Cities

Analyzing the inconsistency in driving patterns between manual and autonomous modes under complex driving scenarios with a VR-enabled simulation platform

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