Simulator Fidelity Influences the Sense of Presence in Driving Simulators

Driving simulator studies often face the problem that traffic situations cannot be represented sufficiently realistically, which reduces the sense of presence and can influence the driving behavior of the participants. However, factors influencing the sense of presence in driving simulators have yet poorly been investigated. We conducted a within-subjects experiment with N=50 participants comparing presence between a lower- and a higher-fidelity simulator in different driving scenarios. Results indicate that a higher sense of presence can be achieved using a higher-fidelity simulator. Due to differences in both the visualization and the motion systems of the two simulators, the differences cannot yet be attributed to individual factors on the simulator side. The exact relation of presence and driving behavior likewise remains unclear and should be the subject of further investigation.