Pitch tilt rendering for an 8-DOF driving simulator

Abstract

Tilt coordination technique is used for reproducing a sustained linear acceleration in driving simulation by tilting the simulator cabin. Thus a part of gravity is interpreted as a horizontal acceleration. Between the slow rotational motion limited by the rotational perception threshold of semi-circular canals of vestibular system and the fast change of acceleration to render, the design of coupling motions of rotation and translation plays a critical role in the realism of driving simulator. We present here an experiment focusing on longitudinal accelerations rendering with pitch tilt coordination technique. Eight drivers experienced the same accelerations and decelerations on a straight double-lane motorway. During the driving, we varied the pitch rate (4, 5, 6 and 7 °/s) and the pitch acceleration (8 and 30 °/s²) used to render these accelerations with the tilt coordination technique. We have found an acceptability threshold of about 6°/s, similar to the value found in our previous work on roll tilt rendering. We have also shown a strong role of pitch rotational acceleration on acceptability, involving that it should be taken into account to properly render accelerations with the tilt coordination technique.