Cognitive Workload and Eye Movement Based Evaluation of Novice and Experienced Drivers

Collaborators:

Evelien Hartog

---

Introduction

Virtual reality (VR) has become a valuable tool for studying driving behavior due to its ability to simulate realistic and controlled driving scenarios, providing a safe environment to test and evaluate driver performance. Research has shown that VR can induce similar levels of cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses as real-world driving, making it an effective and efficient tool for investigating various aspects of driving behavior. Additionally, VR allows researchers to manipulate and standardize various environmental and situational factors, providing a more controlled experimental setting. With the increasing availability and affordability of VR technology, it has become an increasingly popular method for studying driver behavior. This study aims to utilize VR to investigate the cognitive workload of drivers in different driving scenarios

---

Methodology

Participants are asked to complete a driving task in three different VR environments, each presenting a unique level of cognitive demand. The first scenario is a simple straight road, the second scenario includes obstacles on the road, and the third scenario simulates heavy traffic. Figure 1 shows an overhead view of four different road environments, figure 2 shows one of the roads from a lower vantage point. The roundabout scenarios require a higher amount of cognitive workload to navigate as opposed to the non-roundabout roads. The double lane roads offer the possibility of adding oncoming traffic to increase the cognitive demand put on the participant. Participants' cognitive workload will be assessed based on their driving performance and attention levels, which will be measured objectively and subjectively. The objective measures will include metrics such as reaction time and accuracy, while the subjective measures will be obtained through self-reported surveys. This study aims to provide insights into the effects of different VR driving scenarios on drivers' cognitive workload, driving performance, and attention levels.

Figure 1

Overhead view of the roads

Figure 2

Close-up view of the double lane road with roundabout