A HMD-Based Virtual Reality Driving Simulator
Recent advances in optics, helmet-mounted display (HMD) design, 3D graphics chips, and processes for personal computers have combined to make HMD based virtual reality driving simulators available at low cost. A HMD with a resolution of 1,024 by 768 with a field of view of 50 deg diagonally is now available for about $20,000. A graphics processor that can render large databases at fast frame rates costs only $400. Personal computers can now support multiple processors that run over 1 Gigahertz. The authors discuss visual concerns with a HMD, choosing a HMD for a driving simulator, HMDs compared with fixed displays, consequences of improved frame rates, autonomous vehicles, and the use of a HMD based driving simulator for studying drivers who have cognitive impairments.
Determination of the handling properties of a vehicle may be restrictive in some situations. A vehicle model coupled with a driver model may be necessary and even unavoidable to analyse the real ro...