Quality comparison of motion cueing algorithms for urban driving simulations

When designing driving simulation experiments with motion cueing, it is often necessary to make choices between Motion Cueing Algorithms (MCAs) without being fully able to know how well an MCA will perform during the experiment. Choices between MCAs can therefore be greatly supported by previous measurements or predictions of motion cueing quality. This paper describes a data collection experiment on a nine degree-of-freedom motion-base simulator, in which participants are asked to continuously rate the motion cueing quality during a pre-recorded drive through an urban environment. Three benchmark MCAs are compared: a Model-Predictive Control (MPC) algorithm with infinite prediction horizon, a Classical Washout Algorithm (CWA) tuned for the use-case, and the same algorithm (CWA), but with the tilt-coordination channels turned off. By comparing ratings for the whole scenario, as well as ratings for each maneuver individually, the results show a preference of the presence of tilt-coordination, as well as a preference for the optimization-based MPC algorithm over the CWA condition. The collected data will be used directly for modeling and predicting motion cueing quality for future experiments at BMW, such that the best-suited MCA and parameter setting can be selected before experiments.