Research & Development, and Future use of driving simulators

1. Serge JUNG, March 2012 Research & Development, and Future use of driving simulators

2. Outline • R&D for the driver • Requirements • Cabin • Motion system • Display system • Virtual world • Living environment • R&D for the trainer • Requirements • Trainer station layout • Scenario-based vs interactivity • Replay for one and for all drivers • End-of-run report • Future use • Questions

3. R&D for the driver: requirements • Fidelity • Similar physical environment as on an actual vehicle • Similar vehicle reactions according to his commands • Similar field-of-vision • Realistic computer generated images • Realistic behaviours of other road users • Comfort • Adequate temperature and ventilation • Adjustable driving position • Sharp and flicker-free images • Synchronous kinaesthetic, visual and audio cues

4. R&D for the driver: cabin • Genuine truck cab • Automatic and robotized transmission • Force-feedback in the steering wheel • Seat with pneumatic settings • Truck bus • Instrumentation cluster = monitor • Additional dashboard controls for bus • Extra monitors in the cab for buses • Outside mirrors adapted to the vehicle • Benefits • Feeling to be in an actual vehicle • Instantaneous switch between truck & bus

5. R&D for the driver: motion system • Full-cab electrical motion system • Hexapod, 6-DOF, all are used • Places the cab at a height similar to the actual height • Visual system on board • Realistic vehicle dynamics model • Benefits • Feeling to get on board • Feeling of road unevenesses • Sustained acceleration (braking) thanks to pitch and gravity • Surge and sway for skids, strong braking and shocks • Yaw when start turning • Silent and reliable

6. R&D for the driver: display system • Large monitors with ultra-thin bezels • Full-HD, pitch 0.65 mm • 60 FPS image generation • Benefits • Good perception of close distances • Sharp images, letting the driver focus far away to avoid discomfort • Bright enough to simulate sun dazzle • Bright enough to give the possibility to lit the cab • Easy switch between truck and bus • On-board with few constraints on motion system (cheaper) • No maintenance

7. R&D for the driver: virtual world • Extent • City, country, and motorway • Narrow roads, damaged roads, roundabouts, etc • Variety is more important than length • Challenging weather conditions • Creation method • User-friendly and WYSIWYG editor • Geo-specific or dedicated databases • Benefits • Required to create interesting driving scenarios • Editor could be used by the end-user • Cost-effective upgrades • Possible use for accident study

8. R&D for the driver: living environment • Autonomous traffic and people • Realistic behaviour thanks to A.I. • Easy to configure in a scenario (density, aggressiveness, etc) • Passengers for bus • Human-controlled road user • Freely selected in real-time • Mixed with autonomous traffic • Benefits • Required to check driver anticipation related to traffic lights and other road users • Complex interaction between two road-users are possible • Dual task for bus driver

9. Outline • R&D for the driver • Requirements • Cabin • Motion system • Display system • Virtual world • Living environment • R&D for the trainer • Requirements • Trainer station layout • Scenario-based vs interactivity • Replay for one and for all drivers • End-of-run report • Future use • Questions

10. R&D for the trainer: requirements • Ease of use • His job is to train drivers, not to deal with computers! • Enhanced training capacity • To manage multiple trainees at the same time • Flexibility • To implement his own training method • Efficiency • To put drivers in challenging situations within a short time • Reproducibility • To put all drivers in the same conditions • Traceability • To store and compare the performances of the drivers

11. R&D for the trainer: trainer station layout • Only 4 monitors • 2 for reports: driver + vehicle, 3D images • 2 for supervising and assessing • Automatic monitoring and assessment • Basic faults are automatically detected • Graphs for continuous monitoring • Colour codes (G/Y/R) for errors • Benefits • Information available at a glance • Screens big enough for observers • Missed information can be retrieved later • Trainer available for other purposes

12. R&D for the trainer: scenario-based vs interactivity • Scenario prepared in advance • With user-friendly and WYSIWYG editor • Events with controlled road users • Best for assessment • Interactive • Pause, discuss, relocate, redo, take another point-of-view, take control • Change traffic lights, weather, pending events and malfunctions • Best for giving tips • Benefits with scenario • Little workload for the trainer • Enable comparison (before/after, between drivers) • Benefits with interactivity • Level of difficulty adapted in real-time to the driver

13. R&D for the trainer: replay for one and for all drivers • Replay for one • Close to interactive simulation, without user inputs (and kinaesthetic cues) • Uses the same timestamps as redo • Replay for a group • 4 images of trainer station merge and saved as digitized video • Benefits of replay for one • Change of point-of-view • Replay during simulation • Benefits of replay for all • Can be used in parallel with the simulator • Can be used remotely, for group debriefing of for showing simulator benefits

14. R&D for the trainer: end-of-run report • Report content • Identifications (trainer, trainee, scenario), offences, collisions, time, average speed, fuel consumption, number of stops, passengers comfort, etc • Stored for all drivers • Free trainer comments can de added • Exported as text data • Details to be agreed with client to match its training records • Benefits • Keep tracks of all training session on the simulator • Results can be transferred to standard tools (MS Excel) for comparisons and statistics

15. Future use of the simulator • The simulator does not impose a training method, but rather gives multiple possibilities to the training centre • Choice of truck or bus, with various configurations • Choice of transmission • Choice of city, country or highway driving • Choice of weather and traffic conditions • Choice of level of interactivity between trainer and trainee(s) • Capacity to create more or less complex scenarios • Various training objectives can be fulfilled : vehicle handling, forward-looking driving, fuel-efficient driving, customer care (bus), etc

16. Thank you for your attention