Subjective perception and evaluation in the virtual test drive

Abstract

The high simulation quality of today’s driving simulators enables investigations with a driving impression close to reality. The possibility of such a realistic vehicle simulation environment allows new test methods of driving dynamics related topics. While the driver immerse in the virtual reality his subjective impression is an important evaluation instrument for the development process of driving dynamics. Benefits of the virtual test drive include a higher reproducibility and a faster generation of vehicle variants compared to real on-road tests. These benefits lead to a better system understanding and can improve the process in the early development stages.

Within the framework of this investigation, the Stuttgart Driving Simulator is used to analyze the vehicle’s lateral dynamics. In detail, the vehicle motion after overrunning vertical road unevenness on the autobahn is evaluated. For this investigation a five mass vehicle model including an enhanced damper-topmount model is implemented and used for the simulator study. The vehicle’s model complexity thereby guaranties a realistic impression of driving. Based on real test runs on the autobahn the vehicle’s body movement is measured after overrunning the road unevenness and exactly implemented in the driving simulator. In the virtual scenario a calculated excitation is used. The excitation consists of six impulses of forces and moments and induces a vehicle body motion which is similar to the measured vehicle motion on road. For detailed analysis the excitation can be divided into single impulses according to the vehicle’s degrees of freedom. In the present investigation the rolling and yawing movements are considered and analyzed separately. Drivers can modify the vehicle reaction with the control elements while driving on an autobahn track including road undulation. This approach provides an immediate subjective impression of the resulting excitation.

The purpose of this investigation is the objectification of a subjectively harmonic and comfortable coupling of rolling and yawing movement. Here, a driving simulator study is conducted to generate subjective evaluations. A correlation process reveals strong correlations of the subjective evaluations and objective data. This work represents an example using the driving simulator for driving dynamics analysis efficiently and shows the potential of such a realistic whole-vehicle simulation.