Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Virtual Real.
Sec. Virtual Reality and Human Behaviour
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frvir.2024.1484739

Driving simulation: the effects of interactivity and presentation setting

Provisionally accepted
Michaela Gabes Michaela Gabes *Andreas Mühlberger Andreas Mühlberger
  • University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Driving simulators are established tools used for different research purposes. Either head-mounted displays (HMDs) or monitors are applied. However, the extent to which the setting (HMD vs. monitors) or the interactivity in driving (active behaviour as a driver or passive behaviour as a co-driver) influences the experience of presence, realism or simulator sickness is not yet entirely clear. Objective: We aimed to compare different conditions to assess the influence of interactivity and presentation setting on the experience of presence, realism, and simulator sickness. Further, different driving performance parameters (e. g. speed perception or sign detection) were aimed to be assessed between the two settings. Methods: Ninety participants were recruited. This was an experimental study (2 x 2 within-between-subject design) with interactivity as within-subject factor (2 levels: active vs. passive) and setting as between-subject factor (2 levels: HMD vs. monitors). As driving scenarios, we selected four specific driving maneuvers that we assume would affect driving behaviour differently depending on the setting. Differences in the experience of presence as well as in the development of simulator sickness were assessed using standardised questionnaires. Results: There was no difference between the two settings regarding presence, realism or simulator sickness. Regarding interactivity, presence was significantly higher in the active compared to the passive condition. The most prominent difference between the two settings was found in the sign detection task where participants wearing an HMD performed worse. Conclusion: The choice of interactivity appears to have a stronger effect on the experience of presence than the setting. Sign detection was worse in the HMD setting probably due to the lower display resolution. These results are relevant for the interpretation of driving simulator studies and the implementation of future studies.

    Keywords: Financial support: No financial support received Driving simulation, Monitors, HMD, presence, realism, Simulator sickness

    Received: 22 Aug 2024; Accepted: 12 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Gabes and Mühlberger. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Michaela Gabes, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.