Motion Scaling for High-Performance Driving Simulators

Abstract

Advanced driving simulators aim at rendering the motion of a vehicle with maximum fidelity, which requires increased mechanical travel, size, and cost of the system. Motion cueing algorithms reduce the motion envelope by taking advantage of limitations in human motion perception, and the most commonly employed method is just to scale down the physical motion. However, little is known on the effects of motion scaling on motion perception and on actual driving performance. This paper presents the results of a European collaborative project, which explored different motion scale factors in a slalom driving task. Three state-of-the-art simulator systems were used, which were capable of generating displacements of several meters. The results of four comparable driving experiments, which were obtained with a total of 65 participants, indicate a preference for motion scale factors below 1, within a wide range of acceptable values (0.4-0.75). Very reduced or absent motion cues significantly degrade driving performance. Applications of this research are discussed for the design of motion systems and cueing algorithms for driving simulation.

Modelling visual-vestibular integration and behavioural adaptation in the driving simulator

“…This task is experimentally useful because, when driven at constant or near-constant speed in a simulator, the motion cueing algorithm can be simplified to direct linear scaling only, isolating the effect of motion scaling on behaviour from other types of motion manipulations that are otherwise often applied (e.g., tilt coordination and washout; Jamson, 2010). Consequently, many authors have studied how driver behaviour in slalom tasks is affected by variations in motion scaling, providing converging evidence for a set of behavioural phenomena: Steering effort, for example measured as steering reversal rates or high frequency steering content, generally increases when motion cues are removed (Feenstra et al, 2010;Correia Grácio et al, 2011;Savona et al, 2014), and task performance, objectively measured or subjectively assessed, generally deteriorates (Correia Grácio et al, 2011;Berthoz et al, 2013), although not always (Savona et al, 2014). Taken together, these findings suggest that in normal driving, drivers integrate visual and vestibular cues, and when vestibular cues are removed, this makes task performance more challenging.…”

“…The fact that the analyses support the idea of drivers using the underestimated yaw rates as part of their control is interesting in its own right. Much of the existing empirical literature on driving simulator motion can be interpreted conservatively in this sense, to say that motion cues mainly cause drivers to change their higher-level strategy in terms of adopted speeds or trajectories, to avoid experiencing large accelerations (Siegler et al, 2001;Jamson, 2010;Correia Grácio et al, 2011;Berthoz et al, 2013), or that motion cues mainly support rejection of unexpected external perturbances like wind gusts (Repa et al, 1982;Greenberg et al, 2003). The present model and simulation analyses, together with the existing empirical findings from slalom experiments, instead suggest a stronger account, whereby drivers make direct use of motion information as part of shaping their steering to reach their intended targets, also in the absence of any external perturbances or high-level adaptations of trajectory or speed.…”

Editorial IEEE Transactions on Human–Machine Systems: Year in Review for 2013

“…Little is known about the effects of motion scaling on motion perception and on actual driving performance. In [72], Berthoz and colleagues explore different motion scale factors in a slalom driving task. Three state-ofthe-art simulator systems capable of generating displacements of several meters were used in four driving experiments: 1) to investigate the effect of lateral motion gain under normal driving conditions; 2) to analyze whether motion feedback improves driver performance and driving behavior during more advanced driving maneuvers; 3) to investigate the perceptual sensitivity of drivers to variations of the scale factors applied to lateral and yaw motion, compared with a reference condition; and 4) to investigate cueing conditions (amount of lateral movement with respect to the visual displacement).…”

Design of portable and accessible platform in charge of wheelchair feedback immersion

“…Berthoz & al. [3] and Grant & al. [4] demonstrated that driving performance can be affected by the motion scale and gain applied to each motion component.…”