Introduction
A car driving simulator is basically a software product that can be used by anyone who wants to experience simulated driving. That is, driving a car via a computer or a particular controller instead of a car’s steering wheel (Blaauw, 2002). As of now, many software developing companies have launched different simulation software products that are readily available for everyone but very few to none of these companies have come up with an idea to simulate a car driving experience. The objective of this paper is to outline the different requirements to build and operate a car driving simulator. It covers the intended usage, hardware & software, accreditation, and training requirements for such software product.
Intended Usage
The car driving simulator is meant to be commercialized so that everyone who is willing to pay for whatever the software price would be can have access to a realistic virtual driving experience. It is not critically important for a user who intends to use the software to know how to drive or have at least some knowledge about the technical aspects of operating or tweaking a car. Gamers, real-life car drivers, and those who simply want to learn how to drive a vehicle are the ones who can benefit the most from using the software. Additionally, the car driving simulator is intended to be used by anyone who know how to operate a computer, and is mentally capable to apprehend that everything that he is about to witness or experience are all virtual effects and may vary in real life.
More importantly, the car driving simulator will be used for testing purposes. For example, in scenarios wherein the response and alertness of drowsy, hypoglycemic, and drunk drivers need to be tested. Now, doing tests using a real car in a real road would be extremely dangerous. But we can eliminate those dangers using a car driving simulator. Such tests are usually done to minimize the occurrences of car accidents due to a myriad of factors.
What to Model
The car driving simulator is basically modeled after an aircraft flying simulator. The hardware and software aspects of an aircraft and a car are complicatedly different and so we also used other already-existing car driving simulators in the market. Everything was completely redesigned and no copyrighted or trademarked material or properties were ever used by the team.
Hardware
Car driving simulators are relatively lightweight and less complicated compared to other simulators such as an aircraft simulator (Loic, 2010). First, there are fewer things to consider (Bowers, 2010). A car only has one engine (has many different types), a set of four brakes (one for each of the front and rear wheels), a steering wheel, gear shifter, clutch, brake & gas pedals, and other switches and controls for the car electronics. The transmission is also important car hardware as it indicates whether a car can shift gears manually or automatically. In contrast with Manual Transmission cars, Automatic transmission cars do not have clutch pedals since the gears shift automatically and is usually dependent on the speed of the car (Blana, 2002). Powertrain and chassis hardware components include, the braking system, the engine cooling & oil system, the exhaust system, the car suspension, steering mechanisms and the fuel supply system.
The car driving simulator requires the use of a 360 degrees spherical enclosure. The purpose of the enclosure is to enable the driver or the subject to feel like he is really inside a real car. An interface with controls identical to the ones in a real car must also be installed so that the driver will be able to operate the simulator. Motion sensors must also be installed so that the simulator can react quickly and appropriately based on the controls of the driver. If for example, the driver steps on the brake pedal, the motion sensors will send a signal to the simulator to mimic the sensation brought about by a deceleration motion. The visuals or simply the screen is the most important hardware component required to operate the simulator. The simulator takes advantage of the latest LED technology. LED Screens will be ones that will be utilized in the car driving simulator. The screen should be able to deliver high quality, crisp and realistic images or the whole driving experience will be ruined. All of these hardware components contribute to the overall intended usage of the simulator.
Software
The car driving simulation software’s job is to enable the user to realistically mimic the mechanism how a car works using scripts, modules and a particular programming language (Findley et al., 2009). In this case, the car driving simulator will take advantage of the MattLab or Matrix X language. This language is also known as the language of technical computing. It is commonly used to build physical sciences-based software solutions. The car driving simulation software does not absolutely require a high-end Graphics Processing Unit. Instead it will only require a mid-range GPU. It will not also require a computer to be equipped with a multi-core CPU to operate. However, the software will be able to utilize the power of CPUs with two or more cores. The software strains the machine’s internal memory storage the most because of the fact that the users will be enabled to roam in a bigger and more complex urban environment; although it depends on their choice what type of environment they want to drive their car on.
The car driving simulator features a complete 360 degrees panoramic imaging system. With this software feature, the driver will be able to experience a more realistic simulation that can be considered almost identical to a real driving experience. The car driving simulator also features a road and engine vibration system. The driver will be able to feel road and engine vibrations once the engine starts running. He will also be able to feel something as the car accelerates and decelerates, thanks to the motion sensors equipped.
Accreditation
The accreditation that the car driving simulator will receive will actually depend on the state where the user lives (Barry, 2003). Normally, individuals who only learned how to drive a vehicle through a car driving simulator still have to take certain traditional driving tests and examinations before they can be legally allowed to operate a particular type of car. Therefore, being able to operate a highly-accredited car simulation software such as our own version of that software cannot be used as the sole basis to drive a vehicle without license and formal driving education (Yan, 2012). Nevertheless, there are certain accrediting bodies that could judge the validity and acceptability of the car driving simulator. Here are some organizations that are allowed to accredit simulation software.
1. The NATO Modeling and Simulation Group
2. Simulation Inter-Operability Standards Organization (SISO)
3. Verification, Validation and Accreditation Product Development Group (VV&A PDG) – The objective of this accrediting body is to provide an internationally-accepted verification, validation and accreditation set of standards and at the same time, complementing the policies of other international accrediting bodies (Bella, 2005).
4. International Test Operations Procedure
The focus of accreditation would be on the validity, verifiability and the acceptability of the entire car driving simulation. Is it realistic enough considering the fact that it is just intended to mimic a real driving experience? Were there no malfunctions that occurred during the tests? Are all controls working perfectly? Hopefully, our own version of car driving simulator software will be able to pass the standards of at least 2 but preferable all of the accrediting bodies mentioned above.
Training Transfer
Training or Skills transfer is an important element of learning how to operate the car driving simulator. It enables the would-be users to discover the features of the current driving simulator that they are about to operate (Cremer et al., 1996). It also enables them to correctly and more efficiently learn things. Because of that objective, we have decided to provide a hard and a soft copy of the manual so that the users may be able to use something as a reference should they be confused about something. Seminars and even online support are also provided in case the information outlined in the manuals is not sufficient enough to educate the users. The training transfer program involves exercises composed of scenarios where the users are to operate a particular car with visuals, without visuals, and lastly, a scenario wherein the car is the only visible object. At the end of the training transfer, the users who underwent the training transfer program will be assessed based on the skills and cue they acquired. Fortunately, users will be able to benefit the most from the training transfer program by simply studying and then applying what they have learned about the car driving simulator.
Works Cited
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Bella, F., 2005. Validation of a driving simulator for work zone design. Transportation research record.
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Blana, E., Golias, J., & Golias, A., 2002. Differences between vehicle lateral displacement on the road and in a fixed-based simulator. Journal of Human Factors.
Bowers, A., Mandel, A., Goldstein, R., & Peli, E., 2010. Driving with Hemianopia, II: Lane Position and Steering in a Driving Simulator. Investigative Opthalmology and Visual Science.
Cremer et al., 1996. Driving simulation: Challenges for VR technology. Computer Graphics and Applications Vol. 16.
Findley, L., Fabrizio, M., Knight, H., Norcross, B., Laforte, A., & Suratt, P., 2009. Driving Simulator Performance in Patients with Sleep Apnea. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Loic, D., 2010. The Evaluation of Traditional and early Driver Training with Simulated Accident. Journal of Human Factors.
Mathews, G., & Desmond, P., 1995. Stress as a factor in the design of in-car driving enhancement systems. American Psychological Association.
Yan, X., 2012. Visualization of signalized intersections in driving simulator and validity of driving behaviors in virtual environments. Journal of Advances in Transportation Studies.
