Examining the Impact of See-Through Cockpits on Driving Performance in a Mixed Reality Prototype

We built and evaluated a see-through cockpit prototype for a driving simulation in a mixed reality environment, simulating an HMD-based interface. Advantages of such a system may include better driving performance, collision avoidance and situation awareness. Early results from driving line data indicate potential for improving lateral control by driving with transparent cockpits and show no difference regarding different levels of transparency. We extended our prototype based on the results and abandoned the head-registered interface in favor of a simulation of a projection-based system targetting specific car parts. We present the current prototype and discuss how it relates to existing proof of concepts and potential future real-world implementations. We plan to evaluate the latest prototype in a larger-scale study to determine its impact on lane-keeping performance. We also want to consider impairments of the real world and plan to evaluate the system with artificially induced head tracking errors.