Traffic scenarios in driving simulation: implementation and application

This paper discusses the use of a driving simulator to evaluate the usability of driver assistance and information systems. One system approach currently under development in the research initiative INVENT (Invent is a German acronym for Intelligent Traffic and User-friendly Technology) consists in a Traffic Performance Assistant TPA trying to enhance overall traffic flow by vehicle-dependent means. As one example, information on the current downstream traffic situation can be obtained by car2car communication technology and is used in the vehicle to inform the driver. In order to demonstrate the functionality to final customers and to assess changes in their driving behavior a research experiment has been performed in the driving simulator. The paper is structured in two main parts: The first part shows how to enhance the Stisim driving simulator to reproduce realistic traffic conditions even in congested situations. For that purpose an additional computer is connected to the Stisim system and is responsible for the calculation of the traffic scenery in a moving environment around the simulator vehicle. Longitudinal and lateral behavior of the individual vehicles is controlled by use of microscopic traffic models. The second part describes the TPA research experiment (the study with 30 subjects was performed in early 2004) and presents an overview of the results on measured changes of the individual driving behavior and the subjective assessment of the subjects concerning the TPA approach.