A Short History of Driving Simulation

Driving is the most universal and ordinary task people perform every day as well as the most complex and dangerous. It requires a full range of sensory, perceptual, cognitive, and motor functions, all of which can be affected by a wide range of stressors and experience levels. The historical context here will provide appropriate perspectives for simulating the driving experience. Driving has measurable, real-world impacts and consequences for everyone, therefore methods are needed in order to safely quantify the driving experience. Experimental studies can always be conducted with on-road tests, however using a simulator is safer and more cost effective; provides for objective and repeatable measures of driver performance; allows for complete control of the driving environment (traffic, weather, etc.); and can be easily administrated in a laboratory setting. Since the earliest days of driving simulation, simulators have been used in a wide range of clinical studies in order to understand the driver, the vehicle, and the complex driving environment. From early studies that investigated traffic control devices and highway signage, to modern studies dealing with driver texting, cell phone use, and sedative hypnotic pharmaceutical compounds, driving simulation has been a leading research tool. The areas of human factors, medical research, vehicle dynamics, highway design, and more have all benefited from results obtained from driving simulation. One of the huge advantages for using driving simulation is the ability to create and repeat most conceivable driving simulations, leading to documentation of how the driver performed. Within a simulator, all aspects of the driving environment can be controlled and specific tests or events that the driver navigates will lead to the collection of desired performance outcomes. Roadway environmental conditions such as weather, traffic patterns, and signal light timing can all be controlled and repeated over many trials. Anything within the simulated environment can be measured providing objective and repeatable measures that cannot be obtained during on-road testing.