How to Design Valid Simulator Studies for Investigating User Experience in Automated Driving: Review and Hands-On Considerations

Philipp Hock, Johannes Kraus, Franziska Babel, Marcel Walch, Enrico Rukzio, Martin Baumann

Abstract: Simulator studies have been conducted in the automotive domain since the 1960s. Recently, automated driving studies have become more popular as real-world automated cars start to emerge but at this time not all levels of automation can be realized. A simulation does not entail all details of real driving, creating a realistic simulation experience - both on a psychological and physical level - proposes recurring challenges. These are among others: sample acquisition, simulator sickness, simulator training, interface design, take-over requests and secondary tasks in automated driving simulator studies. In this paper, we review existing literature and summarize important lessons from simulations in the domain of driving automation to provide considerations for studies investigating driver behavior in the age of highly automated driving.