A Presence Questionnaire for Understanding the Driving Simulator Experience

Abstract: Presence is seen to be important in the Virtual Reality (VR) domain, as there is often a close link between an individual’s experience of a virtual environment and their subsequent performance/behaviour. Unfortunately, the generic presence questionnaires available in the VR literature have been developed considering tasks not necessarily relevant to the driving situation - for instance, relating to the participant’s ability to move objects, use touch, smell items, etc. This paper describes the evolution of a driving simulator experience questionnaire, designed specifically to enable researchers and practitioners to understand how study participants perceive the driving simulation environment in relation to real-world equivalent situations. The final questionnaire has been informed by 20 interviews and focus sessions, 5 expert reviews, and simulator studies involving 225 people across different fidelity simulators and research institutions. Specifically, 41 items are currently included, believed to be of importance for natural driving. Examples of questions relate to strategic - “I felt as if I had been on a journey”, tactical -“I was compelled to obey the displayed road signs…”, and control – “I had a strong sense of physically controlling the vehicle” elements of the driving task. Items are also included relating to social aspects of driving, e.g. “I was aware that other people were driving cars around me”. In next steps, we intend to evaluate the questionnaire by comparing ratings made by individuals with their subsequent driving behaviour/performance in a simulator.

Keywords: Driving Simulation, Virtual Reality, Presence, Driving behaviour, Driving Experience

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100757

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