Driving simulation: challenges for VR technology

Virtual driving environments represent a challenging test for virtual reality technology. We present an overview of our work on the problems of scenario and scene modeling for virtual environments (VEs) in the context of the Iowa Driving Simulator (IDS). The requirements of driving simulation-a deterministic real-time software system that integrates components for user interaction, simulation, and scenario and scene modeling-make it a valuable proving ground for VE technologies. The goal of our research is not simply to improve driving simulation, but to develop technology that benefits a wide variety of VE applications. For example, our work on authoring high-fidelity VE databases and on directable scenarios populated with believable agents also targets applications involving interaction with simulated, walking humans and training in the operation of complex machinery. This work has benefited greatly from the experience of developing components for a full-scale operational VE system like IDS, and we believe that many other proposed VE technologies would similarly benefit from such real-world testing.