Vehicle Driving Simulator Testing

Human and Machine Interface

Human and Machine Interface is a highly flexible component of the Simulation Lab that allows a wide array of human factors experiments. One of the most important features of this lab component is the speed with which vehicles can be integrated into the Simulation Lab. The lab is capable of integrating anything from a crude seating buck to a fully running production vehicle within a week. Moreover, the minimal intrusions required for integration may allow the vehicle to be made road worthy again as quickly as it was modified for the Simulation Lab.

A wide array of experiments can be performed in a safe and consistent laboratory setting:

• Visibility Studies
• Driver Distraction / Driver Workload
• Instant A/B comparison of different designs
• Human Machine Interface (HMI) Evaluations
• System Evaluations using Hardware In The Loop (HIL)
• Ergonomic Studies
• Benchmarking
• Night-time interior illumination

Current automotive trends indicate more and more vehicles are integrating electronic features into their product line up. This trend increased the drivers’ workload and distractions. A Vehicle Driving Simulator will allow the end user to perform tests in a safe environment without putting the subject in harms way.

Vehicle Driving Simulator offers the following features:

• A 230° x 40° seamless display (230° of left and right and 40° of up and down peripheral view), with real-time visual scenes presented to the driver.
• Real-time vehicle ride and handling simulation software so that any depression of the pedals or turn of the steering wheel will result in the appropriate response on the screen.
• Operational vehicle systems such as speedometer, tachometer, and other new vehicle technologies.
• Active and carefully simulated steering system feedback so that the operator feels the appropriate "pull" on the steering wheel while driving.
• Engineering-level control of vibration (seat, floor, and steering) and audio feedback.
• Rapid occupant packaging and vehicle-in-the-loop capabilities.

At the heart of the lab sit two bays surrounded by 24' diameter spherical partial-domes in which experiments are carried out. In one bay sits the Noise and Vibration Platform that is permanently mounted on a fixed bedplate to ensure stringent levels of accuracy.

In the second bay, various vehicle properties can be quickly adapted to the simulator. This allows for a wide range of Occupant Packaging and Human-Machine Interface (HMI) evaluations.

Occupant Packaging Simulator

The Occupant Packaging Simulator (O.P.S.) of the Simulation Lab provides a test platform for physically evaluating how the driver "fits and feels" inside a vehicle that is being designed. However, unlike static mock-ups of an early design, these evaluations can be made under dynamic real-time driving conditions.

The O.P.S. platform allows occupants in front and rear positions to subjectively evaluate the packaging design. Engineers can do the following:

• Design comparisons and evaluations
• Perform market research
• Perform competitive vehicle analysis
• Make benchmark comparisons.

O.P.S. Platform

A prominent advantage of this tool is that the Simulation Lab can change from one design package to another in a matter of seconds. This rapid ability to make A/B comparisons can result in significant cost savings as well as increased speed-to-market opportunities. Jury evaluations can also be performed in a controlled, repeatable laboratory environment.

The OPS platform has vertical and fore/aft degrees-of-freedom for the following components:

• Driver seat and floor
• Pedal package
• Steering column
• Instrument panel
• Passenger seat and floor
• Center console
• Rear seat and floor

These degrees-of-freedom on the platform are computer controlled so that design data can be downloaded to the system and adjusted in real-time. The platform is typically covered with mockups of an appropriate vehicle shell resulting in an exceptionally real driving experience.