Real-time feedback on a car's lateral position using luminance intensity and sound pressure: Effects on performance in a driving simulator(<Special Edition>Applied Studies of Psychonomic Science)

Abstract

We developed a driving simulator that provides visual (luminance change) and/or auditory (sound pressure change) assistance information to enhance the perception of a car's lateral position in real time. We aimed to test the effects of multimodal assistance information on driving performance. Continuously changing auditory assistance improved driving accuracy without increasing drivers' workload, as did the combination of continuously changing auditory assistance and discretely changing visual assistance (i.e., audiovisual multimodal assistance). Since steering is mainly a visual-motor task, auditory assistance information should not disturb drivers' steering behavior and could therefore contribute to steering. Thus, it is suggested that auditory assistance information is useful for improving drivers' performance with no additional load.