Challenges and Requirements of Immersive Media in Autonomous Car: Exploring the Feasibility of Virtual Entertainment Applications

Abstract

This paper investigated the influence of VR-entertainment systems on passenger and entertainment experience in vehicles with smooth movements. To simulate an autonomous driving scenario, a tablet and a mobile VR-HMD were evaluated in a dynamic driving simulator. Passenger, user and entertainment experience were measured through questionnaires based on comfort/discomfort, application perception, presence, and simulator sickness. In two experiments, two film sequences with varying formats (2D versus 3D) were presented. In Experiment 1, the established entertainment system (tablet + 2D) was tested against a possible future one (HMD + 3D). The results indicated a significantly more favorable experience for the VR-HMD application in the dimensions of user experience (UX) and presence, as well as low simulator sickness values. In Experiment 2, the film format was held constant (2D), and only the device (tablet versus HMD) was varied. There was a significant difference in all constructs, which points to a positive reception of the HMD. Additional analyses of the HMD device data for both experiments showed that the device and not the film format contributed to the favorable experience with the HMD. Additionally, the framework to evaluate the new application context of VR as an entertainment system in autonomous vehicles was discussed.