The impact of individual simulator experiences on usability and driving behavior in a moving base driving simulator

Individual reactions to driving simulators are subject to considerable interindividual differences. This includes the expression of motion sickness-like symptoms, simulator sickness (SS), and the subjective feeling of being in the virtual environment, spatial presence (SP). These differences can decrease the statistical power of simulator studies, i.e., lower the probability of finding actual existing effects. The study at hand explored the impact of SS and SP on usability and mean speed in driving simulations using different navigation systems. SS and SP were further measured using both post-exposure questionnaires and repeated online measurements. A mixed models analysis of data from 57 drivers could establish an effect of differing navigation systems on usability and mean speed. The further inclusion of SS and SP in the analysis of these effects was beneficial. SP also mediated an indirect effect of navigation systems on usability. Repeated online measurements did not offer an advantage compared to questionnaires for the prediction of usability. However, for mean speed, they improved predictions compared to questionnaires for both SP and SS. The study highlights the benefits of assessing individual reactions to simulators and illustrates that repeated online measures are more suitable than post-exposure questionnaires for the study of continuous responses