School of Engineering, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
School of Engineering, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Appl Ergon. 2023 Jan;106:103878. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103878. Epub 2022 Aug 21.
As driving performance relies heavily on the interpretation of visual information, driving simulators require a visual display that can effectively communicate the virtual environment to the driver. Most high-fidelity visual displays include an expensive system of high-definition projectors and wraparound screens. To reduce the overall cost of a driving simulator while preserving the generalizability of results to naturalistic driving, head mounted displays (HMD) are being considered as a substitute visual cueing system. Recent innovations to virtual reality technologies are encouraging, however, differences between HMDs and more traditional visual displays have not been explored for all types of driving measures. In particular, while existing literature provides insight into the validity of HMDs as a substitute for higher fidelity visual displays in tests of driver behaviour and performance, there is a gap in the literature regarding differences in physiological responses. In the current study, upper body muscle activation and joint angle ranges were compared between an Oculus™ Rift Development Kit 2 HMD and a system of wrap around screens. Twenty-one participants each completed two simulated drives, one per display, in a counterbalanced order. During the simulation, drivers encountered unanticipated pedestrian crossings during which peak surface electromyography, root-mean-square of the surface electromyography signal and joint angles were determined bilaterally on the upper limbs. No significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were observed between the Oculus™ Rift HMD and the wrap around screens for all dependent variables with the exception of left joint range of motion in female participants, suggesting that the HMD reduced field of view had a minimal effect on driver kinematics and no effect on muscle activation levels. Upper body bracing was observed during the hazard response time segments characterized by significantly increased muscle activity during hazard response time segments and minimal joint movement. Considering the lack of significant kinematic and muscle activation differences between the two visual inputs, HMD technology for hazard response may provide a suitable alternative to wrap around screens for studying kinematic responses during hazardous driving scenarios.
由于驾驶性能严重依赖于视觉信息的解释，因此驾驶模拟器需要一个能够将虚拟环境有效传达给驾驶员的视觉显示。大多数高保真视觉显示器都包括昂贵的高清投影仪系统和环绕屏幕。为了在保持对自然驾驶结果的可推广性的同时降低驾驶模拟器的总成本，头戴式显示器（HMD）正被考虑作为替代视觉提示系统。虚拟现实技术的最新创新令人鼓舞，然而，对于所有类型的驾驶措施，HMD 与更传统的视觉显示器之间的差异尚未得到探索。特别是，虽然现有文献提供了关于 HMD 作为更高保真度视觉显示器替代品在驾驶员行为和性能测试中的有效性的见解，但在文献中存在关于生理反应差异的差距。在当前的研究中，在 Oculus™ Rift Development Kit 2 HMD 和环绕屏幕系统之间比较了上半身肌肉激活和关节角度范围。21 名参与者每人完成了两次模拟驾驶，每次显示一次，以平衡方式进行。在模拟过程中，驾驶员在遇到意外的行人横道时遇到了意外的行人横道，在此期间，双侧上肢的表面肌电图峰值、表面肌电图信号的均方根和关节角度被确定。在除了女性参与者的左侧关节运动范围之外，Oculus™ Rift HMD 和环绕屏幕之间的所有依赖变量都没有观察到显著差异（p≤0.05），这表明 HMD 的视场缩小对驾驶员运动学几乎没有影响，并且对肌肉激活水平没有影响。在危险响应时间段中观察到上半身支撑，在危险响应时间段中肌肉活动显著增加，关节运动最小。考虑到两种视觉输入之间缺乏显著的运动学和肌肉激活差异，HMD 技术用于危险响应可能为研究危险驾驶情况下的运动学响应提供了一种环绕屏幕的合适替代方案。
