How Do Immersive Driving Environments Influence User Performances and Experiences?

Abstract

Prospective evaluations of human-vehicle-interactions during early prototyping stages are important (Mayhew, 1999) to ensure safety and usability for innovative solutions. To do so, highly realistic appearing test environments will help to provide reliable and valid findings. The high-end version of a realistic test environment is a real car driving study, of course. Nevertheless, they are difficult to control, manipulate and replicate and thus to standardize. They are also more time consuming and expensive. Therefore, one economizing suggestion is the implementation of immersive (driving) environments within simulator studies to provide users a more realistic feeling. This paper discusses research investigating the influence of different levels of immersivity within driving environments. Two important influencing factors were used to examine different levels of immersivity: visual parameters and auditory parameters. Objective data and subjective user impressions were measured and analyzed. Twenty participants took part in the driving simulator study and performed the Lane Change Task within different immersivity conditions. Objective and subjective data have shown advantages for the most immersive driving environment and provide evidence to suggest a more aware and realistic perception of the driving situation. Therefore, higher immersive driving environments are suggested regarding evaluations of prospective human-vehicle-interactions.

Keywords: Immersivity, Driving Task, Presence Experience

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100667