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Setting and Evaluating Impacts of Motion Base Limits on the Fidelity of Driving Simulation Studies

Grace Taylor

Authors:  Grace Taylor, Wayne Giang

Faculty Mentor: Wayne Giang

College:  Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering

Abstract

There are roughly 1.35 million road traffic deaths every year. New technologies, such as smart infrastructure and driving automation have the potential to increase driver safety, but can also be hazards due to distraction, misuse, or misunderstanding. Thus, it is important to evaluate driver behavior when interacting with these systems. In order to conduct this testing in a safe environment, the University of Florida’s Industrial and Systems Engineering department is currently setting up a high-fidelity driving simulator composed of a motion base, driver cab, and TVs displaying the simulated environment. This poster will describe one aspect of the simulator integration process, setting motion limits on the 6 degrees of freedom hexapod to ensure a safe motion envelope for the simulator platform. By varying the six directional limits, multiple motion envelopes of the cab will be simulated in a CAD software to determine the appropriate limits for heave, sway, surge, roll, pitch, and yaw. This poster will also review the literature on the effects of limiting the motion range of the motion base on the fidelity of the driving simulator motion. These results will help ensure the safety and efficacy of the driving simulator.

Poster Pitch

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Poster

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13 Responses
  1. Andres Osuna

    What do you mean by possible biases that could be caused by the restriction of the motions? Thank you and great work! It is extremely interesting!

    1. Grace Taylor

      Thank you! To your question, because it’s possible that limiting motion can affect driver perception, performance and SS, these were all considered as possible biases in the studies that will be conducted on this driving simulator. For example, if participants percieve the motion as too little (since it’s restricted), their resultant behavior could be biased by this perception.

  2. Lauren Lester

    Hi Grace! Great Poster! What are some steps to test what kind of accelerations drivers experience during driving? Would putting an accelerometer inside the vehicle work?

    1. Grace Taylor

      Thanks! Testing what kind of accelerations drivers experience will be derived from average braking speeds (visual), and rather than an accelerometer, equations can be utilized with the motion base software and degrees of freedom for the physical motion.

  3. Emma Bland

    Hi Grace! Great poster! What kind of research will this simulator be uses for once the simulator is all set up?

    1. Grace Taylor

      Thanks! The research isn’t clearly defined yet, but it will involve testing driver behavior under circumstances possibly like answering calls hands-free or interacting with smart consoles.

  4. Wayne Giang

    Great work, were there any studies that explored whether motion cues could lead to increases in simulator sickness (either due to incorrect motion cues or unexpected motion gain)?

    1. Grace Taylor

      Thanks! There was a study that studied various motion gains (all of which were incorrect except a gain of 1) and found that conflicting/amplifying frequencies mattered more than the motion gains.

  5. Jeffrey Chen

    Hello,

    Great job on the poster. Assuming that SS will be a factor in possible future projects, what steps could be taken to control the influence of SS?

    1. Grace Taylor

      Thanks! We could look into including prediction cues, moderating frequencies, shortening experiments, and reducing movement in the surge direction. Ultimately SS is specific to each individual and is very hard to control, but by taking these factors into consideration, hopefully we can lessen SS experienced.