Can Virtual Reality Headsets be Used to Measure Accurately Drivers’ Anticipatory Behaviors?

Abstract

VR headsets are several orders of magnitude less expensive than driving simulators. Their use in research and clinical settings could explode were it shown that the results obtained with VR headsets were similar to those obtained with more standard driving simulators. Towards this end, the current study expands on a previous initial validation study of VR headsets. In particular, it has been shown in conventional driving simulation and on-road studies that middle-aged drivers glance longer at latent hazards than their younger counterparts. In this study the total time middle-aged drivers spend glancing at a latent hazard and the average duration of each glance were compared to these same times for younger drivers using a VR headset and fixed-based driving simulator. The results indicate that the middle-aged participants glanced longer than their younger counterparts on both platforms at latent hazards, as measured by the total glance duration but had no difference when measured by the average glance duration. Moreover, the magnitude of the difference between middle-aged and younger drivers was the same across the two platforms. These results are in line with previous simulator studies. There appears here a real opportunity to expand the powers of simulation using VR headsets, both for purposes of research and clinical practice.