DRIVING PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS SYSTEM

THE PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVE IS THE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF A VIRTUAL REALITY SIMULATOR TO ASSESS DRIVING PERFORMANCE IN PERSONS WITH VISUAL FIELD LOSS. THIS INTERACTIVE SIMULATOR WILL GIVE SUBJECTS THE SENSATION THAT THEY ARE DRIVING IN A VIRTUAL WORLD WITH THE USE OF WIDE- FIELD DRIVING SCENES, FORCE-FEEDBACK THROUGH THE STEERING WHEEL, AND STEREO SOUND. THE SUBJECT'S DRIVING RESPONSES WILL BE RECORDED ALONG WITH THE TRACKING OF THE SUBJECT'S HEAD AND EYE MOVEMENTS. THE RECORDED DRIVING RESPONSES AND VISUAL RESPONSES CAN BE USED TO TRAIN THE SUBJECT TO IMPROVE THEIR VISUAL PERCEPTUAL SKILLS DURING DRIVING. MANY PATIENTS WITH SERIOUS VISUAL FIELD LOSSES DUE TO A VARIETY OF DISEASES (E. G., RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA, GLAUCOMA, AGE- RELATED MACULOPATHY) ARE ABLE TO OBTAIN AUTOMOBILE DRIVER'S LICENSES. THE RESEARCH IS SCANT AND INCONCLUSIVE IN DEFINING THE EXACT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUAL FIELD LOSS AND DRIVING PERFORMANCE, PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF GOOD DEPENDENT MEASURE OF DRIVING PERFORMANCE. DURING PHASE I OF THIS GRANT WE WILL TEST A PROTOTYPE OF THE SYSTEM WITH BOTH SUBJECTS HAVING NORMAL VISION AND SUBJECTS HAVING VISUAL FIELD LOSS. IN PHASE II WE WILL COMMERCIALLY DEVELOP A VIRTUAL REALITY SIMULATOR FOR ASSESSMENT OF DRIVING PERFORMANCE.