ABSTRACT: The motion system is a major component of a driving simulator. It can provide various senses of presence with different degrees of freedom (DOF). Different DOF could bring about distinct results for speed, lane departure, longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration. These indexes are widely used in roadway design safety evaluation using driving simulators. Few studies, though, have comprehensively explored the effect of driving simulator motion systems on driving performance. The Tongji University high-fidelity driving simulator was used in this study. Four indexes: speed, lane departure, longitudinal acceleration, and lateral acceleration were compared separately. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to examine the difference for each index using 8-DOF and fixed-base simulators in nine types of combined alignments. A subjective assessment of participants’ driving experience was also conducted to compare the difference in motion-system fidelity and adverse reactions between the two types of simulators. Results show that: 1) motion system significantly influences the speed, lane departure, and longitudinal acceleration on the majority of combined alignments; 2) motion system has little effect on lateral acceleration index; 3) the 8-DOF motion system provides better motion fidelity sensations than the fixed-base motion system does; and 4) the 8-DOF simulator causes less sickness in most cases.
Xinchen Ye, Xuesong Wang, Xiaomeng Wang. The Effect of Motion System on Driver Performance in Simulated Driving. Transportation Research Board 99th Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., USA, 2020 1.12-16.