Unity-based Simulation Scenarios to Study Driving Performance

Abstract

In this paper, we present two 3D driving simulation scenarios and a vehicle model developed to analyze driving efficiency and safety. The scenarios include different roads, traffic, and events so that drivers can acquire driving competences and their performance can be tested. They were developed with Unity game engine, which allows to create 2D and 3D games and applications and to export them to many different platforms. The first scenario is urban with varied roads, crossroads controlled by traffic lights, and roundabouts. The second scenario is interurban with different road sections connected by roundabouts. The vehicle engine has been modeled setting the dependency between engine torque and rpm and the dependency of each gear and speed on fuel consumption. Automatic or manual gear shifting can be selected. During a simulation, the speed, rpm, gear, consumption, and traffic offences are showed in real time and stored in files for further processing. Seven people drove in the scenarios and their stored data enabled us to analyze differences in driving performance between them. The simulator was ranked positively by all the participants regarding ease of interaction, similarity to real driving, and usefulness for driving learning.