2Jaguar Land Rover, Virtual Innovation Centre (VIC) (bwaterf1@jaguarlandrover.com) Abstract. Virtual Reality (VR) can reduce time and costs, and lead to an increase in quality, in the development of a product. Given the pressure on car companies to reduce time-to-market and to continually improve quality the automotive industry has championed the use of VR across a number of applications, including design, manufacturing, and training. This paper describes interviews with 11 stakeholders from an automotive manufacturer about their current physical and virtual properties and processes. The results guided a review of research findings and scientific advances from the academic literature, which formed the basis of recommendations for future developments of VR technologies and applications. These include: develop a greater range of virtual contexts; use multi-sensory simulation; address perceived differences between virtual and real cars; improve motion capture capabilities; implement networked 3D technology; and use VR for market research.

In a longitudinal study, 49 drivers undertook a commutestyle journey, with part of the route supporting level-3 automation, over five consecutive days. Bespoke HMIs were provided to keep drivers in-the-loop during automation, and help them regain situational-awareness (SA) during handovers, in a 2×2 between-subjects design. Drivers demonstrated high levels of trust from the outset, delegating control to the vehicle (when available) and directing attention to their own activities/devices. Ratings of trust and technology acceptance increased during the weekeven following an unexpected, emergency handover on day fourwith the highest ratings recorded on day five. High levels of lateral instability were observed immediately following takeovers, although improvements were noted during the week and following the provision of SA-enhancing hand-over advice. Results demonstrate benefits associated with novel HMI designs to keep drivers in-the-loop and improve takeover performance, as well as the necessity of multiple exposures during the evaluation of future, immersive technologies.

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This paper reports a study which demonstrates the advantages of using virtual-reality based systems for training automotive assembly tasks. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to one of the following three training experience to learn a car service procedure: i) observational training through video instruction; ii) an experiential virtual training and trial in a CAVE; and iii) an experiential virtual training and trial through a portable 3D interactive table. Results show that virtual trained participants, after the training, can remember significantly better (p <.05) the correct execution of the steps compared to video-trained trainees. No significant differences were identified between the experiential groups neither in terms of post-training performances nor in terms of proficiency, despite differences in the interaction devices. The relevance of the outcomes for the automotive fields and for the designers of virtual training applications are discussed in light of the outcomes, particularly that virtual training experienced through a portable device such as the interactive table can be effective, as can training performed in a CAVE. This suggests the possibility for automotive industries to invest in advanced portable hardware to deliver effectively long-distance programmes of training for car service operators placed all over the world.

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Introduction It is notoriously difficult to obtain a perfect fitting of hearing aids (HAs) for children as they often struggle to understand their hearing loss well enough to discuss the fitting adequately with their audiologist. Dartanan is an ‘edutainment’ game developed to help children understand the functions of their HA in different sound contexts. Dartanan also has elements of a leisure game for all children, in order to create an inclusive activity. Methods Game prototypes were evaluated during two formative evaluations and a summative evaluation. In total 106 children with and without hearing loss in Italy, Spain and the UK played Dartanan. A built-in virtual HA enabled children with hearing loss to use headphones to play. Results and conclusions: During the formative stages, feedback was discussed during focus groups on factors such as the audiological aspects, the extent to which children learned about HA functions, accessibility and usability, and this feedback was presented to the developers. After redevelopment, a summative evaluation was performed using an online survey. It was concluded that the game had met the goals of helping children understand their HA functionalities and providing an inclusive activity. User-evaluations were crucial in the development of the app into a useful and useable service.

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