Can We Study Autonomous Driving Comfort in Moving-Base Driving Simulators? A Validation Study.

Objective: To lay the basis of studying autonomous driving comfort using driving simulators, we assessed the behavioral validity of two moving-base simulator configurations by contrasting them with a test-track setting. Background: With increasing level of automation, driving comfort becomes increasingly important. Simulators provide a safe environment to study perceived comfort in autonomous driving. To date, however, no studies were conducted in relation to comfort in autonomous driving to determine the extent to which results from simulator studies can be transferred to on-road driving conditions. Method: Participants ( N = 72) experienced six differently parameterized lane-change and de…