Sonification-based Steering Assistance for Curve Driving: Evaluations in Virtual and Real-World Environments

Maintaining stable steering is essential for safe and comfortable driving, and reducing corrective steering is a key factor in achieving this stability. In our previous study, we proposed a method that facilitates the recognition of the correct steering angle by mapping a musical scale to the steering angle in real-time. However, prior experiments were limited to short and simple curves, and its effectiveness in a full driving course within a virtual environment and in real-world driving remained unclear. In this study, we develop and evaluate two prototype systems to assess the effectiveness of our method in both virtual and real-world environments. One system is implemented in a full driving course within a virtual environment using a driving simulation game, while the other is applied in a real-world environment using an actual vehicle. We hypothesize that using the proposed method for driving practice will reduce corrective steering compared to conventional steering. Experimental results in the virtual environment showed that our method significantly reduced corrective steering compared to normal steering. Furthermore, our findings suggest that its effect persisted to some extent even after the auditory feedback was removed. Additionally, experimental results from a driving training program in a real-world environment indicated that our method was effective for some users, suggesting that effectiveness may vary across users.