UniNet: A Mixed Reality Driving Simulator

David F. Arppe, Loutfouz Zaman, Richard W. Pazzi, Khalil El-Khatib

Abstract: Driving simulators play an important role in vehicle research. However, existing virtual reality simulators do not give users a true sense of presence. UniNet is our driving simulator, designed to allow users to interact with and visualize simulated traffic in mixed reality. It is powered by SUMO and Unity. UniNet's modular architecture allows us to investigate interdisciplinary research topics such as vehicular ad-hoc networks, human-computer interaction, and traffic management. We accomplish this by giving users the ability to observe and interact with simulated traffic in a high fidelity driving simulator. We present a user study that subjectively measures user's sense of presence in UniNet. Our findings suggest that our novel mixed reality system does increase this sensation.

Keywords: Driving Simulator, Mixed Reality, Virtual Reality, Passthrough, Green Chamber, SUMO, Procedural CityGeneration, Traffic Generation

TL;DR: A mixed reality driving simulator using stereo cameras and passthrough VR evaluated in a user study with 24 participants.