Practical Considerations Towards a Common Understanding of Driving Simulator Validity

Abstract

While there is a general consensus that driving simulators need to be validated, there is little agreement or standard on applicable methods and processes for verification and validation. This paper discusses how validation should be attempted and relates the status quo of driving simulation to existing standards for simulation in the aerospace and aviation fields. Building on the concepts used here and providing two practical examples of validation studies, we showcase what conclusions may be drawn based on validation experiments and what conclusions researchers should be cautious with. In particular, transferring the results of validation studies to other contexts of use, driving simulators, or dependent variables can reduce the credibility of the simulation results and generally increases uncertainty