Impact of Display Technology and Head-Tracking Latency on the Perceived Quality of a Driving Simulation in Virtual...

BACKGROUND: Given the current lack of evidence comparing head-mounted display (HMD) and projection-based simulators and with the overall goal of developing a driving simulator for use in patients with eye diseases, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of display technology and latency on perceived driving simulation quality and simulator sickness.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Participants with a valid driving license, normal or corrected-to-normal vision, and no known visual disorders were asked to perform a 5-minute driving task on a driving simulator under three different conditions - a 180 degree screen setup, HMD without latency, and HMD with an experimental head-tracking latency of 50 milliseconds. Driving performance (deviation from lane centre, longitudinal and lateral acceleration, maximum velocity) was recorded during each driving task, and after each drive participants completed the simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) and the presence questionnaire (PQ).

RESULTS: Sixteen participants (aged 21 - 71 years) were enrolled in the study and 14 completed all simulation conditions. Simulator sickness was significantly higher in the HMD with latency compared with both the HMD without latency and the projection-based system. The PQ score was significantly reduced with the HMD with latency, while no significant difference was observed between the other conditions. Apart from longitudinal acceleration, driving performance metrics were not significantly different between conditions.

CONCLUSION: Findings from this study suggest that HMDs have comparable simulation quality to projection-based systems and can be integrated into clinical driving assessments if latency is kept to a minimum.