Carnet Manual
Carnet Manual
1 december 2020
Copyright © 2011-2020 by Carnetsoft BV
Contents
Contents .................................................................................................................................2
Foreword ................................................................................................................................4
Colorspace ..........................................................................................................................4
Vehicles used in the traffic model .......................................................................................4
1. IOConfig ............................................................................................................................5
Buttons and Axes for the input devices ...............................................................................5
Buttons 6
Steering wheel and pedals ........................................................................................................................ 7
User interface .....................................................................................................................8
Displays............................................................................................................................10
VI-Support .......................................................................................................................11
Force feedback .................................................................................................................12
Vehicles............................................................................................................................13
Priority vehicle/police training ............................................................................................................... 13
Rendering .........................................................................................................................14
2. Special purpose buttons on the user interface .................................................................... 16
3. Scanning ...........................................................................................................................16
Define buttons for scanning ................................................................................................................... 16
Head tracking 17
4. Automation training .........................................................................................................20
Enabling the use of the PDT .............................................................................................20
5. Start the simulator.............................................................................................................21
Start Simulation button .....................................................................................................21
Student data button ...........................................................................................................22
6. Student Assessment System (SAS) ................................................................................... 23
Add a new student ............................................................................................................23
Select a student .................................................................................................................23
Start a lesson ....................................................................................................................25
End of lesson ....................................................................................................................26
7. Lesson modules ................................................................................................................29
8. General characteristics of the lessons ................................................................................31
9. Order of lessons ................................................................................................................32
10. Description of lessons .....................................................................................................36
1-VehicleControl lessons ..................................................................................................36
I-StartStop: Start engine, drive off, stop the car, turn of engine .......................................................... 36
AUTOM_DriveOff : Automation training driving off .......................................................................... 37
I-Steering1: Steering: pass-on and cross-over methods ....................................................................... 38
P-Steering2: Steering at higher speed ................................................................................................. 38
AUTOM_Steering: Automation training steering ................................................................................ 38
I-ChangeGear: Change gears ................................................................................................................. 39
AUTOM_ChangeGear: Automation training gear changing................................................................ 39
I-ChangeLanes: Lane changing ........................................................................................................... 40
I-Overtaking: Passing and overtaking ................................................................................................... 40
AUTOM_ChangeLanes: Automation training lane changing ............................................................... 41
P-SteeringSidewind: Driving and accurate steering with windgusts fro left and right............................ 41
P-VehicleControl: Practice vehicle control skills ................................................................................ 41
P-Reversing: Driving in reverse gear .................................................................................................... 41
I-ParallelParking: Instruction lesson parallel parking ........................................................................... 41
I-BayParking: Instruction lesson bay parking ......................................................................................... 41
P-Parking: Practice parking .............................................................................................................. 42
2-TrafficParticipation lessons ...........................................................................................42
I-Observation: Scanning (viewing techniques) and preparatory actions while approaching junctions ....... 42
I-Priority: Traffic rules for priority and turning left/right at intersection............................................ 43
AUTOM_ScanStraight: Automation training approaching and crossing intersections........................... 44
AUTOM_ScanRight: Automation training approaching intersections and turning right ........................ 44
AUTOM_ScanLeft: Automation training approaching intersections and turning left ............................ 44
I-Roundabout1: Instructions for approaching and driving on small roundabouts ...................................... 44
P-Roundabout1: Practice approaching and driving on small roundabouts ................................................ 45
I-Roundabout2: Instructions for approaching and driving on large roundabouts....................................... 45
P-Roundabout2: Practice approaching and driving on large roundabouts ................................................. 45
AUTOM_RoundFirst: Automation training roundabout first exit ......................................................... 46
AUTOM_RoundSecond: Automation training roundabout second exit ................................................ 46
AUTOM_RoundThird: Automation training roundabout third exit ...................................................... 46
P-Traffic1: Practice traffic interactions outside built-up area ............................................................. 46
P-Traffic2: Practice traffic participation 2......................................................................................... 47
P-Traffic3: Practice traffic participation 3......................................................................................... 47
P-Carriageways: Practice lesson dual carriageways and multi-way intersections .................................. 47
I-Merging: Merging and leaving the highway ................................................................................... 47
P-Highway1: Practice lesson highway 1, entering and leaving the highway ........................................... 48
P-Highway2: Practice lesson highway 2, merging traffic ....................................................................... 48
P-Highway3: Practice lesson highway 3, entering highway with traffic jam ........................................... 49
P-Highway4: Practice lesson highway 4, long stretch of driving ............................................................ 49
3-SpecialCircumstances lessons ........................................................................................49
P-Fog1: Practice lesson fog outside build-up area ......................................................................... 49
P-Fog2: Practice lesson fog highway ............................................................................................ 50
P-Rain: Practice lesson rain ......................................................................................................... 50
P-Snow1: Practice lesson icy road ................................................................................................... 50
P-Snow2: Practice lesson snow: adverse weather, reduced visibility and slippery road ............................ 50
P-LowSun: Practice blinding effects of a sun at a low position................................................................ 51
P-Night1: Practice night driving 1, no traffic .......................................................................................... 51
P-Night2: Practice night driving 2, rural area .......................................................................................... 51
P-Night3: Practice night driving 3, Highway .......................................................................................... 51
Foreword
Colorspace
All content is created using the sRGB colorspace. This assumed a Gamma value of around 2.2 on the
monitors you are using. So, check if the Gamma on the monitor menu has been set to 2.2. If you want
the image generation to be a bit darker, you can set it to 2.6, but a value of 2.2 is recommended.
All vehicles are defined in the file \files\cars.def. There are a few different car lusts. If you prefer to use
low poly vehicles then run \Carnetsoft\carsLP.bat. This copies \files\carsLP.def to cars.def. If you
prefer better looking higher poly vehicles then run \Carnetsoft\carsHP.bat to install carsHP.def.
Cars.def defines a vehicle on each line. The first value is the Id as applied in CreatePart( id ) (see
system defined functions section). The second value is vehicle type (for example 1 for normal cars, 2
for buses, etc), the length, width and wheelbase (in meters), followed by the length of a trailer (0 if no
trailer is present), and finally the file path of the 3D model).
1. IOConfig
The program IOConfig.exe is installed in the SimCarnet folder. It uses the python script files
‘dispmodes.py’ and ‘disp.pyc’. It assumes that a version of Panda3d has been installed before.
Changes in the configuration must be make BEFORE the simulator is started, and not during a
running simulation. So, to change a setting, turn off the simulator program.
All input devices must be connected to the computer via usb connections. There can be maximally 5
different input devices. During the application of IOConfig they must be plugged in, in order to be
detected.
Buttons
If no Button Id has been set, the button is not used and thus not recognized during the simulation.
Non-toggle button: In that case, the toggle box must not be ticked. This type of button is set ON when
the button is pressed. It stays ‘ON’ if it is released. When it is pressed again, it is set to the value
‘OFF’. Most buttons of the G29 are treated like that.
Setting a button or switch to a logical device (for example gear 1 or handbrake) works as follows.
When the button has been selected, press the <Ready> button to stop the sampling and continue
with the next logical button (step 2).
Steering wheel
The procedure to select the steering wheels and pedals is comparable to the buttons. To select the
steering wheel,
1. first make sure you select the appropriate input device (the Logitech G29 in this case).
2. Then select the steering wheel (under the heading ‘pedals’) by clicking the appropriate radio
button.
3. Then press the <Press button/pedal or turn steer> button and turn on the steering wheel.
4. The name of the axis then appears under the Axis heading (the X-axis in the case).
5. Then press the <Ready> button.
In most devices, the steering wheel is on the X-axis. If a Logitech G29 is, used, the software assumes
that the steering wheel angle is between -450 and +450 degrees. In the driver settings of the G29,
make sure the ‘Degrees of rotation’ is set to 900, see next figure.
Also, make sure that “Enable Centering Spring in Force Feedback Games” is enabled, and “Centering
Spring Strength” is set to 30%. If you make this larger, the steering wheel may stick in a non-zero
position after driving for a while. Sensitivity should be set to 50%.
For the clutch, brake and accelerator pedals, a similar procedure is used. The clutch is selected as a
‘Logitech G29 Racing Wheel USB device’. When the clutch pedal is pressed, the Y axis changes, so
this is the one selected. There’s also a checkbox with the heading ‘Inverted Axis’ checked. In some
cases, the axis is inverted. Normally, when a pedal is pressed fully, the driver returns the maximum
value and when the pedal is not pressed, it returns 0. But this is not always the case. Sometimes it
returns 0 when the pedal is pressed fully, while it returns the maximum value when the pedal is not
pressed. In that case the axis is converted. When you start the simulator and the pedal gives the
maximum value when it is NOT pressed, then you know the axis is inverted. In such a case, you need
to tick the checkbox ‘Inverted axis’ for the respective axis. In the G29 all pedals have inverted axes.
If all buttons, switches, pedals and steering wheel have been configured, store the data. Press the
<Ok> button. If you do not want to store the data, click the <Cancel> button. If you click the <Ok>
button, you are asked for confirmation.
The data is stored in the file ‘inputdevices.def’ in the SimCarnet folder. This is a simple text file that
can be edited manually if required, or copied to the computer that runs a simulator. You have to make
sure the input devices as referred to in this file are available on that computer.
User interface
Press the User interface tab to configure the control.exe GUI.
- The first choice is between a ‘Big interface’ or a ‘Small interface’. Normally a Big interface is used.
This is when you use 4 displays: 3 for rendering and 1 for the user interface.
- If you want to use 3 displays in total and put the GUI on one of the rendering displays on top of the
rendering surface, choose the ‘Small interface’ option. The next figure shows a small interface. This
can be put on top of a rendering surface and you don’t need a separate display for that.
- Enable GUI overlay when you want to use 3 displays in total and also have the big GUI displayed on
one of the monitors, typically the left one. In that case, the top panel of the big GUI will be displayed
on top of the graphics engine rendering surface. If you enable GUI overlay, make sure the big
interface option is switched on.
The next figure shows a big interface. This has more functionality and gives more information. You
need a separate display (monitor) for that, or enable GUI overlay.
The position of the interface can be set by changing the values of the top-left of the interface. In the
example X and Y of the top-left are both set to 0. The left-most of the display surface is X=0 and the
top of the display is defined as Y=0. If, for example you have 4 displays, the logical left display (first
display) then starts at (0;0). If this display has a resolution of 1920x1080, the second display starts at
(1920;0). If you want to apply the GUI on the first display, then set the GUI top-left position on the first
nd rd th
display, for (0;0). The rendering surfaces are then defined on the 2 , 3 and 4 display.
Press the <Ok> button to store the User interface data. The data is stored in the file
‘windowsettings.def’ in the SimCarnet folder. This is a simple text file that can be edited manually if
required, or copied to the computer that runs a simulator.
Displays
The rendering displays can be configured by clicking the ‘Displays’ tab, see next figure.
A list shows all allowed resolutions per display. If you click on a list item, it is moved to the ‘Resolution
per rendering display’ field. Then all 3 rendering displays (left, middle and right) must have the same
resolution.
For a 3-rendering display system, the Horizontal (X) offset refers to the coordinate of the top-left of the
LEFT rendering display.
For a 1-rendering display system, the Horizontal (X) offset refers to the coordinate of the top-left of the
only rendering display.
If you use 1680x1050 as the screen resolution for each display, you have to make sure this is also
configured in the screen resolution settings of the display driver. 3 x 1680x1050 displays require a
5040x1050 resolution, see next figure (screen resolution settings display driver): In the example, the
GUI display is monitor 1, the left rendering display is monitor 4, themiddle rendering display is monitor
3 and the right rendering display is monitor 2. Screen 1 starts at (0;0) in this example, and must be the
main display.
Press the <Ok> button to store the User interface data. The data is stored in the file
‘screensettings.def’ in the SimCarnet folder. This is a simple text file that can be edited manually if
required, or copied to the computer that runs a simulator.
If there’s no screensettings.def file available then the simulator system uses the display settings
defined in the files ‘ConfigC.prc’ and ‘ConfigL.prc’ and ConfigR.prc. Never remove these *.prc files
from the system because there are a lot of other different settings defined in these files that are used
by the rendering system.
VI-Support
The folder where the sound files for the speech messages and other sounds are located can be
specified in this tab. Normally they are located in the sounds folder.
If you want to put the sound messages (*.wav files) into a different folder, press the ‘Select new sound
folder’ folder, and then select the name of the folder from the selection dialog. This option is useful
when you have more than one language installed. To switch between languages you then have to
select another folder.
Here you can also select visual scanning support. Basically visually scanning has three different
components:
- scanning to left and right
- looking over shoulders (shoulder check)
- checking the mirrors (left, central, right)
If you want to enable visual scanning support and checking, there are basically two ways to do that:
either via the TrackIR device of via buttons that have been assigned a specific function.
By unchecking the ‘Feedback virtual instructor’ checkbox, the VI only gives instruction and no
feedback. This can be used, for example, if you want to use a lesson as a driving test instead of a
regular lesson.
By unchecking the ‘use PDT’ button, the PDT test is not applied during automation training lessons. I
that case, automation data are not stored in the student assessment system. Most users do not use
PDT measurement so this one is typically switched off. It is recommended not to use this feature
anymore because it will be discontinued.
To store the data for the simulator, press the <Ok> button on the bottom of the tab.
Force feedback
To specify the force feedback settings, use this tab.
To store the data for the simulator, press the <Ok> button on the bottom of the tab. The name of the
file is ‘forcefeedback.def’.
Vehicles
This is used select a vehicle type. This must be done before the simulator is started.
Rpm stall is the RPM at which the engine stalls. If you don’t want to stall too easy, you can lower this
value to 100, for example. To increase the engine power, if you want to be able to drive at a higher
speed, set the EnginePowerFactor higher, in this example to 1.5. That means the engine power of the
simulator vehicle will be 1.5 times higher as the default value.
The option for police training, or training to drive a priority vehicle in general (ambulance, firetruck,
police) can be enabled by choosing a siren option in the Vehicles tab.
If you want to use the siren, you must also assign a siren button in the buttons panel. Press the OK
button to save the new configuration.
Siren (only) means that the siren switches on when you press the siren button but traffic does not alter
its behaviour (normal priority rules apply etc.), so other traffic does NOT take account of the the priority
vehicle.
Siren + Priority vehicle means that the siren switches on when you press the siren button AND traffic
changes behaviour such that they give priority to you, oncoming vehicles stop and move aside when
you overtake etc.
For police training this means that driving as a priority vehicle can be trained where other traffic either
takes account of you driving a priority vehicle or not.
In order to be able to drive faster you can increase the regular engine power (and thus maximum
speed) by changing the value from 1 to, for example, 2. In that case engine power doubles.
Rendering
A number of different graphical effects can be enabled here.
- Distance haze results in a more realistic haze effect on objects that are farther away. Apart from a
more realistic atmosphere, enabling this also results in less obvious popping up of objects that come
into view. Objects far away are not drawn and if they come within a certain distance from the view
camera, they will popup within view.
- Shadows add to the realism of the simulations so it is recommended to leave this enabled.
- Sun scattering shows the effect of the scattering of the sun from the direction the sunlight reaches
the camera. Although the effect can be nice it is not 100% correct so you may want to disable this.
- Gloss mapping/bloom effect results in better looking graphics during daytime driving and blooming
effects on vehicle lights during night driving.
‘Mirrors always on’ is enabled by default. This means that all rearview mirrors are enabled. If ‘Mirrors
on by button’ has been enabled, the images in ALL mirrors are rendered when the driver presses
either the ‘LookLeftMirror’ or ‘LookRightMirror’ button. If ‘Mirrors on by TrackIR’ has been enabled, all
image rendering of the rearview mirrors is disabled unless the driver looks specifically in the direction
of a specific mirror. So, if the driver looks at the rearview central mirror, the rearview images are
rendered in that mirror.
The buttons B1, B2, B3 and B4 are for use in the research simulator software. The operator can click
on these buttons and then the event generated can be used in the script language to fire an event or
start a scenario, for example to let a lead vehicle brake. In the script language the functions
guibutton1(), guibutton2(), guibutton3() and guibutton4() are defined and if the return the value True,
the respective button was pressed by the operator.
By pressing the view position buttons Cabin, Rear, Left rear and Right rear you can set the camera
position either from the vehicle cabin or from hovering behind the simulator car and looking at the car
from rear, from left rear or right rear. This enables the operator to have look from above at the
simulator car, for example to check the position on the road with respect to surrounding traffic.
Head yaw and head pitch give the yaw and pitch angles of the head if a head tracker is used.
3. Scanning
Visual scanning is an important aspect of driver training. When the student approaches an
intersection, changes lanes or drives off, it is important that he/she looks left and right and looks over
the shoulder. In the training program visual scanning is an option. To check whether the driver looks
left and right, the optical head tracking via the TrackIR5 is the preferred method. Mirror checking is
also a very important aspect of scanning. The driver must always be aware of relevant objects around
the car (situational awareness), and for that, mirror checking is of utmost importance.
If visual scanning is supported, the Virtual Instructor checks if the student has looked left or right, into
the mirrors, or over the left or right shoulder when appropriate. If the student has failed to do so, a
feedback message is delivered by the Virtual Instructor. Results on visual scanning are stored in the
student assessment system when visual scanning is supported.
In IOConfig (Buttons tab), viewing direction can be assigned to buttons, if you don’t have access to the
TrackIR.
The settings in the IOConfig example, and defined by default, are as in the G29 steering wheel
picture.
So, when the ‘look left’ button is pressed, the Virtual Instructor is alerted that the student looks to the
left monitor. In that case, a red block with the text ‘looked here’ is displayed on the left monitor IF ‘give
looking direction feedback’ has been enabled in IOConfig (in the Rendering tab). When the ‘left
shoulder’ button is pressed, a view from over the left shoulder is displayed on the left monitor.
Alternatively, looking left and right can be detected via the head tracking system.
Head tracking
A TrackIR5 device costs around 175 US dollars and can be ordered at major electronics stores.
To install the trackIR software, start TrackIR_5.4.2.exe. It installs the software in the folder:
C:\Program Files (x86)\NaturalPoint\TrackIR5\TrackIR5.exe
To use head tracking with the TrackIR5 system you need the following:
- a trackIR infrared camera fitted on top of the middle monitor the driver is facing. Make sure the
driver’s head is positioned in front of the center of the middle rendering monitor, preferably at less than
1 meter from the monitor (see instructions that come with the TrackIR).
- the driver is wearing a baseball cap with the reflectors attached to the cap (see instructions that
comes with the TrackIR).
- since the TrackIR is sensitive to other light sources, make sure there are no light reflections behind
the driver that disturb the detection by the trackIR, see below.
- The TrackIR software starts automatically when the computer is started. When the driver wears the
baseball cap with the reflectors, and is seated in front of the central monitor and faces forward, press
F12 to calibrate the system (so it knows your head is in a face-forward position). Also press F12 if the
detection appears to be less accurate.
- Make sure that the Motion Control panel, Speed is set to 0.5 and Smooth is set to 6.
- Advanced settings->Camera->set Lightfilter Threshold to 253 (maximum) and camera rotation to 0
- If you can’t get stable head yaw and pitch, then there are probably reflections. In that case, enable
<Display><Camera view>. You should now see the three reflectors as 3 green blobs. If there are any
other green blobs, these are reflections that disturb the image processing. Red blobs are also
reflections but these are ignored. Find the source of the other green blobs and remove that source.
These are usually windows that let sunlight in behind the driver, so close the curtains in that case.
The simulator accesses the head yaw (horizontal angle) and pitch (vertical angle) that is detected by
the trackIR via an intermediate program.
This is a python interface program, called FreePie. It is installed by FreePie.1.9.629.0.msi. After this
installation it is installed in:
c:\Program Files (x86)\FreePie\FreePie.exe
When the simulator starts, FreePie is started and starts to send data to the simulator. This program
ends when the simulator is terminated.
4. Automation training
Automation training is an important aspect of the driver training curriculum. All Automation training
lessons are preceeded by the word ‘AUTOM’, as in AUTOM_Steering. During these lessons the
respective driving task is trained for about 15 minutes, and the emphasis is on that specific task. For
example, during AUTOM_ChangeLanes, the student has to change lanes a large number of times.
During every lane change, the student has to scan, look over the shoulder, apply the indicator and do
the lane change manoeuvre.
The next part of this paragraph can be skipped, because the PDT is not used very often in the driver
training simulator system. Its used more often in behavioural research applications (experiments).
The level of task automation can be measured by the PDT (Peripheral Detection Task, or Detection
Response Task). During the PDT task, a little red block is displayed on the middle display, and the
student has to press the PDT button as soon as he/she detects the red block. When a driving tasks
requires a lot of controlled attention, PDT signals are not detected by the student or reaction time is
larger. When automation sets in, PDT signals are detected more frequently while reaction time to the
PDT stimuli becomes smaller. This results in an automation index that is stored in the student
assessment system.
The use of the PDT task is optional: it can be switched on or off in IOConfig by eanabling the ‘Use
PDT (during automation training’ checkbox.
Applying the PDT during the automation training adds a little bit of additional task complexity, and
some users may prefer not to use the PDT. In that case, the checkbox ‘Use PDT’ should be
unchecked: no PDT is activated during the automation training lessons, and no automation index
results will be stored in the student assessment system.
The PDT button can be defined in the Buttons tab of IOConfig.exe.
Method 1 is used when you want to start a lesson and not store data for a specific student. In this
case, no performance data are stored. Method 2 is used when you want to store data for a specific
student. After a lesson is stopped by the operator of completed by the student, performance data are
stored in the database of the student.
When you press the ‘Start Simulation button’, a file selection dialog is displayed. All lessons are
categorized in three separate folders:
- 1-VehicleControl: contains all ‘Level 1’ lessons related to learning vehicle control tasks.
- 2-TrafficParticipation: contains all ‘Level 2’ lessons related to learning traffic participation
tasks.
- 3-SpecialCircumstances: contains all ‘Level 3’ lessons of advanced driver training, related to
special circumstances such as reduced visibility and slippery road.
- TrainingModules: contains lesson modules that consist of a series of lessons that are played
sequentially.
To select a specific lesson or module, click the folder and then click on a lesson or module. To start
the lesson or module, press the ‘Open’ button.
In this method, select a student, followed by a lesson or module, see the next paragraph.
Select a student
When the SAS is opened (‘Student data’ button, see previous paragraph), a student must be selected.
On the left side of the SAS panel there are a number of buttons:
Control simulator:
- Select student. With this button a file of an existing student can be opened. To create a
new file for a new student, see the previous paragraph.
- Start Lesson. This button starts a selected lesson for the selected student.
Navigate in SAS: these buttons can be used to navigate to a certain tabsheet in the spreadsheet.
- To selected lesson. In the ‘Overview’ tabsheet there’s an overview of all lessons. A lesson
can be selected by clicking on the row with the name of the lesson.
- To overview. Navigate to the ‘Overview’ tab.
- To print report. Navigate to the report tab (print page) to print the report.
- To SW report. Navigate to the strength/weakness report.
Report: After each lesson is finished, the results of the lesson are stored in the tab sheet of the
respective lesson: each lesson has it’s own tab. But the system also makes a report of a single page
which gives the results in summarized form. There are two possibilities: after each lesson is finished,
the SAS creates a report. This can be printed by the operator. Another option is to make a report of
another lesson that has been driven before (and thus was not the latest lesson). For that purpose the
‘Make report’ function can be used.
- Make report. To make a new report (apart from the automatically generated report of the
latest lesson), do the following. First go to the ‘Overview’ tab and select a lesson by clicking
on the name of the lesson. Then jump to the tab of that lesson by clicking on the ‘To
selected lesson’ button. This shown the tab of that lesson. When that lesson has been
driven at least one time, a report can be generated of the last time this lessen was done (by
the present student). To do so, click on the ‘Make report’ button. This can take a few
seconds, and then the SAS jumps automatically to the ‘Report’ tabsheet. This then gives a
summary of the results of that lesson. Some fields are empty, such as fuel consumption,
because that data is only available if the lesson has just been finished: it is not stored in the
SAS.
- Print via OpenOffice. This is to print the report, by calling the program ‘OpenOffice’.
Select a student by clicking on the ‘Select student’ button (step 1). A file selection dialog opens and a
student can be selected by clicking on the name (step 2). When the button ‘Open’ is pressed (step 3),
the student data are loaded. This takes some time because of the large excel spreadsheets.
Start a lesson
- The system gives an advise on the lesson to be selected. In this case, this concerns the first
lesson and the system advises the lesson I-StartStop (see on top in the ‘Advise’ field).
- The name of the student is shown in the ‘Student’ field (test).
- The system opens the tab ‘Overview’ (see bottom of image). This is the central part of the
SAS. It gives an overview of all lessons, with a name and a short description. When the
lesson has not been done yet, the background colour is gray. The column ‘Number’ shows
the number of times the lesson has been done by the present student. In this case this value
is 0 for all lessons. If the value is larger than 0, the column ‘Highest’ shows the highest
grade for that lesson. This means that, for example, when the lesson has been done twice
with a 6.0 for the first time and a 5.0 for the second time, the column ‘Highest’ shows a 6.0.
The column ‘Criterion’ contains the pass/fail criterion. In this case this is a 6.0 for all lessons,
on a scale from 0 (lowest grade) to 10 (highest grade). This means that a grade of 6 or
higher must be obtained in order to pass for the lesson. When a lower grade is obtained, the
SAS advises to do the lesson again. When the student is passed for the lesson, the
background colour is green. When the student has failed, the background colour is red.
After this, a lesson can be started. Use can select a lesson by clicking on the name of the lesson (step
1, I-ChangeLanes). When you have not selected a specific lesson, the advised lesson is started. The
lesson starts after the button ‘Start Lesson’ has been clicked (step 2).
When the button ‘Start Lesson’ is pressed, a file selection dialog appears with the name of the
selected lesson filled out. By pressing the button “Open” the lesson is started. The SAS disappears
from the screen and the control panel of the simulator is put on the foreground.
The lesson now starts, and continues until the student has driven the complete route, or until the
operator stops the lesson.
End of lesson
A lesson can be ended in two ways:
- When the lesson is finished, this is detected by the simulator software and the Virtual
Instructor (VI) asks the student to stop the car. The student then has to follow these
instructions (stop the car and turn off the engine). Then the simulator closes the lesson and
sends all performance data to the control program. This stores the data in the SAS of the
selected student.
- The operator can finish the lesson by pressing the ‘Stop Lesson’ button. The lesson then
stops and all data are sent to the control program. This stores the data in the SAS of the
selected student.
The SAS creates a report (‘Report’ tabsheet) and the Report tab is shown. When the lesson has been
started from a sequential lesson module, the simulator continues with the next lesson in the module
without showing the report after a lesson has been finished. A lesson module consists of a sequence
of lessons that are played one after the other.
When a lesson has been started from the SAS, which is the typical case, the report is shown after the
lesson has been finished, see the figure above. This shows the summarized results of P-Traffic1,
together with the date, time, distance driven and fuel consumption. The grade was a 8 and the student
passed the lesson: each lesson is also a test. There have been a couple of errors:
- On the task ‘Speed control’ speed was too high. This did not occur often, resulting in a 8.5
for that task.
When the button ‘To selected lesson’ is pressed, the SAS navigates to the P-Traffic1 lesson tab sheet.
This gives more detailed information for each driving task. For example, the driver error ‘Speed too
high’ has been registered once.
When the ‘To Overview’ button is pressed, the Overview tab is shown, see next illustration. It shows
that the lesson P-Traffic1 has been done once and the grade was a 8.0. That was sufficient to pass
and the background colour of that lesson is green.
When the ‘To print report’ button is pressed, the report can be printed and the printout can be filed. It is
recommended to make 2 prints: one for the file and one for the student.
When the ‘To SW report’ button is pressed, the Strength-Weakness tab sheet is shown, see next
figure.
The Strength-Weakness analysis is a matrix of driving tasks by lessons. As the curriculum progresses,
this matrix is filled, and can be used to see which driving tasks (for example Speed control or Priority
rules) require more attention. Green fields indicate sufficient results. Red fields indicate poor results.
7. Lesson modules
Lesson modules can be created with the “ModuleConfig” program. A module is a sequence of lessons
that are executed sequentially, without intervention of the operator. Modules have the extention ‘pac’.
There have been 12 modules predefined, but you can make new modules with any combination of
lessons. The predefined modules are:
- DriveOff
- Steering
- ChangeGear
- ChangeLanes
- Intersections
- Roundabouts1
- Roundabouts2
- Traffic
- Highway
- ReducedVisibility
- SlipperyRoad
- NightDriving
As an example, the module ChangeGear consists of 2 lessons with a total duration of approximately
20 minutes. In the following illustration, an overview of LessonConfig is displayed with all lessons of
this module in the lower box. The upper box displays all lessons that can be added.
When this module is started in the simulator (after selecting the name of the module), these two
lessons are executed sequentially.
The following table shows the contents of all modules together with the duration.
When all lessons are finished, the SAS shows the report of the last lesson. To generate a report of
other lessons take the following steps:
- Go to the ‘Overview’ tab.
- Click on the one of the other lessons.
- Click on the ‘To Selected lesson’ button. The tab of that lesson is displayed.
- Click the ‘Make report’ button. The SAS makes a report of the latest specified lesson and
then navigates to the ‘Report’ tab.
- Then print the report: OpenOffice opens with the present spreadsheet and you can print with
the OpenOffice print function.
• On the bottom-right is a navigation display that shows the current gear, and the next direction
to take. It also shows a green arrow when your present RPM is too high and you have to gear
up (eco). During the lessons verbal route instructions are given by the Virtual Instructor (VI)
(for example, ‘turn left at the next intersection’) and this is accompanied by a pictogram on the
navigation display. When there’s a oneway road and/or no-entry sign, and there’s really no
choice but to enter one road after the junction, no route instruction is given. All students MUST
follow the fixed route. When the student deviates from the route he/she is put back to a point
before the last intersection. The car has to be started again and the student has to proceed
according to the proper route.
• At the start of a lesson, or when the lesson is split into several subparts, an overlay with the
text ‘Wait a minute please’ is projected, together with a spoken instruction ‘press the horn to
continue’. The student then has to press the horn/claxon to proceed.
• Voice messages (from the Virtual Instructor or VI) are used for instructions and feedback. For
example an instruction about the direction to be taken at the next intersection, or feedback
that the clutch was not pressed fully while changing gears. The VI watches a large number of
things simultaneously, but takes care that the messages are scheduled according to
importance and order, such that the messages are delivered sequentially. Sometimes the
student commits a number of errors almost at the same time, and in that case only feedback
on the most important errors is given in order not to overload the student.
• Driver errors are stored in the Student Assessment System (SAS) after each lesson (if a
student has been selected, otherwise nothing is stored). Progress during the complete
training is stored for each student in this way.
• Each lesson is driven in one of three modalities: Automatic, Manual or AutoDrive. This
information is displayed in the Navigation panel. Automatic is in automatic gear: the gear
MUST be set in second (‘drive’), first gear is reverse. Manual is manual gear (5 or 6 gears +
reverse). In AutoDrive the simulator controls the speed completely (although the student can
brake if he feels speed is too high), but the student has to steer (or control the pedals if
needed). During a few of the first instruction lessons the student drives in Automatic (gear).
During the lesson the current driving mode is displayed in the navigation panel. See next
illustration.
9. Order of lessons
Lessons differ in length: durations may vary from a few minutes to 20 minutes per lesson. Within each
level (level 1 to 3, going from vehicle control skills to advanced lessons in special circumstances) the
naming of the lessons is as follows:
- I or P lesson: An I-lesson is an Instruction lesson where the focus is on procedures or
instructions on how to perform a certain task. P-lessons are Practice lessons where certain
skills or tasks are practiced. For example, I-StartStop trains the order of operations for the
tasks of starting a car, driving off, stopping and turning off the engine via structured
instructions and teaching specific procedures. In the P-VehicleControl lesson, the student
can practice a number of different vehicle control skills, that have been learned in earlier
lessons. Automation training lessons are preceded by AUTOM, as in AUTOM_ChangeGear.
- Short description. The last part of the name of the lesson gives a short description of the
contents of the lesson.
In the documentation folder there’s a file named ‘LessonForm.pdf’, that contains a list of all lessons in
the recommended order. You can print that and use a copy for each student as a concise
administration of progress. See next two pages.
I-Steering1 11
P-Steering2 9
AUTOM-Steering 15
I-ChangeGear 4
AUTOM-ChangeGear 15
I-ChangeLanes 10
I-Overtaking 5
AUTOM-ChangeLanes 15
P-SteeringSidewind 5
P-VehicleControl 8
P-Reversing 5
I-ParallelParking 4
I-BayParking 4
P-Parking 5
I-Roundabout1 5
P-Roundabout1 6
I-Roundabout2 5
P-Roundabout2 7
AUTOM-RoundFirst 15
AUTOM-RoundSecond 15
AUTOM-RoundThird 15
INTEGRATION TRAINING
P-Traffic1 12
P-Traffic2 8
P-Traffic3 11
P-Carriageways 11
I-Merging 9
P-Highway1 4
P-Highway2 4
P-Highway3 5
P-Highway4 20
I-StartStop: Start engine, drive off, stop the car, turn of engine
I-StartStop is the first lesson in the curriculum. It is a procedure training lesson in which the following
procedures are trained:
- Starting the engine
- Driving off
- Stopping the car
- Turning off the engine
Because this is a procedure training in which the order of actions matters, it is important that the
student listens well to the instructions of the VI, and does not initiate actions independently. The
training has two levels:
- Follow my steps: Step by step explanation of all actions in the correct order: the VI tells
which actions have to be performed and the student then performs the actions, one at a
time. The student thus follows the VI and does not start doing actions on his own. For
example, the VI may tell the student: “We are going to start the car. Listen to me and wait
after each action”.
- Do by yourself: Perform the complete procedure by yourself from beginning to the end in the
correct order. During this, a popup is displayed as a reminder, with the proper order of
actions. As an example, the VI may tell the student: “Start the engine”.
The order of the training scenarios in the lesson I-StartStop is:
- Follow my steps: Start the engine
- Follow my steps : Turn off the engine
During this lesson, the driver drives off repeatedly, in first gear, while a vehicle in front pulls off and
stops. During this training, the student has to scan around the vehicle before driving off, and make
sure the engine does not stall.
I-Steering1 is a procedure training lesson in which the following procedures are trained:
- Steering with the pass-on method
- Steering with the cross-over method
During the lesson, popups are displayed with the order of actions. Training occurs on a simulated
special practice area with a number of curves to left and to right and intersections where the student
has to turn left or right.
First, a number of complete instructions are given for the pass-on method for curves to left and to
right, followed by the ‘do by yourself’ method.
Then, the full instructions for the cross-over method are given a number of times, followed by the ‘do
by yourself’ method.
For some students it may be helpful if the operator demonstrates both methods.
In P-Steering2, the simulator starts to drive slowly, but then speeds up to higher speeds. People who
have difficulties with steering accurately, often compensate for that by driving slowly. However, in this
method, the student is forced to learn to steer while driving at higher speed. When speed is too high
for the student, speed may be reduced by pressing the brake.
Training takes place is in a rural area with a speed limit of 80 km/h. There are a large number of
oncoming vehicles to force the student to steer accurately. The car drives in AutoDrive to ensure a
fixed speed. When the simulator turns left or right at an intersection, speed is reduced by the system in
a quiet manner, allowing the student to steer quietly to turn left or right. The student is supposed to
use the pass-on method and to use the indicator before turning left or right on the intersections. During
the lesson the VI gives feedback if steering is not accurate or when the curve on the intersection is
taken too narrow or too wide.
When, after this lesson, the student still is not able to steer accurately (has failed the lesson) the
lesson should definitely be repeated, because adequate steering ability is a prerequisite for the next
lessons.
During this lesson, the student drives on a curved road without intersections. There are several speed
limit signs and the student has to make sure that the speed limit is obeyed.
In this lesson the student learns to change gears according to fixed procedures. First, a few general
reminders are given:
- Always change one gear up.
- When stopped, gear down to first or second gear.
- Always press the clutch when changing gears and just before you make a stop.
- But never press the clutch without a good reason.
The first time the student gears up, the ‘follow my steps’ method is used: the VI tells the student what
to do, and the student then performs this action. After that, the students gears up by himself, while the
proper order of actions is displayed on a popup. In the same way, when the student gears down for
the first time, the follow my steps method is used, followed by the ‘do by yourself’ method. The student
pulls up to 2200 rpm’s and then shifts up, from first, to second, third, fourth and fifth gear. The order of
the procedures is:
nd th th th
Gear up: Start engine Drive off 2 3 4 5
th th th nd
Gear down: 5 4 3 2
Gear up : 2nd 3th 4th
th th nd
Gear down: 4 3 2 Stop the car Turn off engine
During this lesson, the student drives on a curved road without intersections. The VI tells the student
to gear up or down repeatedly. There are several speed limit signs and the student has to make sure
that the speed limit is obeyed.
In this lesson the procedures for passing stationary vehicles and overtaking driving vehicles are
trained.
During this lesson, the student drives on a curved road without intersections. The VI tells the student
to change to the left or the right lane repeatedly, and checks the use of indicator and visual scanning
behaviour. There are several speed limit signs and the student has to make sure that the speed limit is
obeyed.
During this lesson, the student drives on a curved road and experiences unpredictable windgusts from
left and right. There’s oncoming traffic on the opposite lane and the student has to be alert and make
corrective steering actions in order to drift of the road and avoid collisions.
In this lesson the student drives a fixed route during which steering, gear shifting, speed control and
other vehicle control skills can be practiced a little bit more.
During this lesson, the student has to drive in reverse gear over a stretch of road while driving around
90 degrees corners.
The student gets step by step instructions on how to park while driving in reverse gear, in a parking
lane between two vehicles.
The student gets step by step instructions on how to park while driving in reverse gear, in a parking
bay.
The student can practice both parallel parking and bay parking in a specially designed practice area.
2-TrafficParticipation lessons
Traffic participation is a more advanced topic that addresses more complex skills such as
- Perceptual skills related to looking at and detecting hazards, traffic signs, other road objects
- Recognizing signs and other traffic participants and decide which rules applies
- Multitasking in which the student has automatized vehicle control skills in order to be able to
give sufficient attention to traffic related tasks
A sufficient level of automatization of vehicle control skills is needed in order to be able to pay
sufficient attention to traffic related tasks. Traffic participation is generally much more difficult and
attention demanding compared to vehicle control. Accidents are more often related to a breakdown in
traffic-related tasks than to insufficient vehicle control skills. For beginner drivers, it is important to
learn these tasks well enough to prevent them from being suddenly overloaded when traffic complexity
increases.
This is an extensive, and for learning to drive safely, very important lesson that practices visual
scanning while approaching an intersection. In addition, all actions while approaching a junction are
practiced. The objective is to teach the student to complete all actions in time before arriving at the
intersection. Turning left, turning right and going straight through are practiced separately. In some
cases, the student has to stop before entering the intersection to give way to traffic.
Concerning the actions while approaching the intersection, the VI gives the following instruction:
“Decide by yourself whether to stop or drive on. When you stop, switch into first gear. When you drive
on, reduce speed to 20 km/h before the intersection and switch down to second gear”.
In addition to the scanning techniques, the VI checks the correct use of indicator, whether speed is
reduced in time before the junction, shifting down to second gear when turning left or right and the
proper application of the priority rules.
Start engine Drive off approach intersection and turn right/left (or straight through) approach
intersection and turn right/left (or straight through) approach intersection and turn right/left (or
straight through) Stop car Switch off engine
This lesson concerns the traffic rules for priority and turning left or right at intersections. The following
subjects are covered:
- General remarks concerning priority.
- Uncontrolled intersection: drivers from right have priority.
- T intersection: drivers on the road that continues have priority.
- Straight ahead: drivers going straight ahead have priority.
- T-junction ongoing road: drivers on main road have priority.
- Left over right: drivers turning right at an intersection have priority over oncoming vehicles
turning left.
- Give way and stop signs: priority sign and stop sign.
- Major road: you have priority over all traffic.
In this lesson, the student drives in the respective traffic environments, with the traffic signs along the
road and traffic coming from various directions. Each rule is explained to the student and he must then
decide whether to stop or drive on. Because these rules are often quite abstract on paper, it is
illuminating for the student to experience the situations from the perspective of the driver. The students
learn the rules in relation to the position of other traffic and signs and road markings.
In a village-like database, the trainee crosses a large number of intersections with different priority
regimes and traffic approaching the intersection. Visual scanning, speed control and priority rules are
trained in this lesson.
In a village-like database, the trainee turns right at a large number of intersections with different priority
regimes and traffic approaching the intersection. Visual scanning, speed control and priority rules are
trained in this lesson.
In a village-like database, the trainee turns left at a large number of intersections with different priority
regimes and traffic approaching the intersection. Visual scanning, speed control and priority rules are
trained in this lesson.
This lesson covers the procedures for taking the first, second and third exit on small single-lane
roundabouts. The following subjects are treated:
- Roundabouts general.
- Roundabouts first exit (turn right)
- Roundabout second exit (straight ahead)
- Roundabout third exit (turn left)
The student approaches the roundabout and receives instruction on the proper timing of actions
concerning observation, use of indicator and lane position.
In this instruction lesson, there’s no other traffic to ensure the student can focus on the procedure.
This lesson covers practicing taking the first, second and third exit on small single-lane roundabouts
with traffic approaching the roundabout and on the roundabout. The following subjects are treated:
- Roundabouts first exit (turn right)
- Roundabout second exit (straight ahead)
- Roundabout third exit (turn left)
This lesson covers the procedures for taking the first, second and third exit on large two-lane
roundabouts. The following subjects are treated:
- Roundabouts general.
- Roundabouts first exit (turn right)
- Roundabout second exit (straight ahead)
- Roundabout third exit (turn left)
The student approaches the roundabout and receives instruction on the proper timing of actions
concerning observation, use of indicator and lane position.
In this instruction lesson, there’s no other traffic to ensure the student can focus on the procedure.
This lesson covers practicing taking the first, second and third exit on large two-lane roundabouts with
traffic approaching the roundabout and on the roundabout. The following subjects are treated:
- Roundabouts first exit (turn right)
- Roundabout second exit (straight ahead)
- Roundabout third exit (turn left)
In a database with a number of roundabouts, the trainee approaches a roundabout and takes the first
exit a large number of times. Use of indicator, visual scanning, speed control and priority rules are
trained in this lesson. Traffic approaches the roundabout and the student has to decide whether to
give way before entering the roundabout or drive on.
In a database with a number of roundabouts, the trainee approaches a roundabout and takes the
second exit a large number of times. Use of indicator, visual scanning, speed control and priority rules
are trained in this lesson. Traffic approaches the roundabout and the student has to decide whether to
give way before entering the roundabout or drive on.
In a database with a number of roundabouts, the trainee approaches a roundabout and takes the third
exit a large number of times. Use of indicator, visual scanning, speed control and priority rules are
trained in this lesson. Traffic approaches the roundabout and the student has to decide whether to
give way before entering the roundabout or drive on.
In this lesson outside built-up area the following aspects are trained:
- 100 km/h roads with zones with a 60 km/h limit.
- The student encounters 10 intersections, of which there are 4 right turns, 4 straight
throughs, and 2 left turns.
- Car following and maintaining a safe headway to vehicles in front.
- When turning right, there’s oncoming traffic going straight through, or oncoming traffic
turning left, that has to be given the right of way.
- Approaches to a major road with a stop sign where there’s traffic from left that has priority.
- Roads with a no-entry sign.
- Major roads where the student has priority over traffic from right and left.
- In addition, a number of signs indicate:
o Curved road
o Overtake prohibition
o Mandatory driving direction
o Major road, priority junction, stop sign
This lesson offers a pleasant training in driving in a relatively quiet environment. On each stretch of
road there are oncoming vehicles, and there’s traffic at each intersection. However, because of the
rural environment and the long stretches of road, this lesson is a good lesson to start practicing what
has been learned before.
In this lesson on a training circuit the student traverses a large number of intersections with traffic
interactions. This lesson is more demanding compared to P-Traffic1, because the task demands are
higher:
- more steering required on shorter stretches of road
- more intersections with intensive traffic interactions
- more different speed limits
In this lesson in a small town the student traverses a large number of intersections with traffic
interactions. This concerns zebra crossings, traffic lights and different types on intersections
This lesson concerns driving on dual carriageways (trunk roads) and crossing and turning left/right on
multi-way intersections. When the central reserve is not large enough, the student has to wait until
traffic from both left and right is clear before he crosses the intersection or turns left.
When leaving the dual carriageway by turning left, it is important to mind traffic from rear and to
choose the proper lane position in time.
This lesson teaches procedures for merging and leaving the highway. The following subjects are
covered:
- Entering and leaving the highway general.
- Merging on a highway with no traffic. Explanation of order of actions while entering a
highway.
- Leaving a highway with no traffic. Explanation of order of actions while leaving a highway.
- Merging on a highway with traffic. Explanation of order of actions while entering a highway.
- Leaving a highway with traffic. Explanation of order of actions while leaving a highway.
- Merging traffic on the highway.
- Merging in a traffic-jam. Explanation of order of actions while merging into a traffic-jam on a
highway.
This is a lesson on a highway with a high traffic intensity, and with driving at high speed. Especially
entering and leaving the highway, together with the proper use of the indicator and position on the
road are important aspects in this lesson.
This is a lesson on a highway with a high traffic intensity, and with driving at high speed. Taking care
of traffic entering the highway is an important aspect in this lesson.
This is a lesson on a highway with a high traffic intensity, and with driving at high speed. Entering the
highway while there’s a traffic jam on the highway is an important aspect in this lesson.
The student drives for 20 minutes on a highway with a number of times entering and leaving the
highway, traffic jams and overtaking.
3-SpecialCircumstances lessons
These are more advanced lessons related to reduced visibility, slippery roads, being blinded by
sunlight and night driving. These lessons practice aspects of driving that are not so easily trained in a
real car in the real world. Reduced visibility caused by sun scattering/blinding, fog, rain, snow or night
conditions can be optimally trained in the simulator. Slippery road conditions caused by icy roads and
snow is also a special condition that is often hard to train in the real world.
Driving in dense fog in a rural area with traffic. The following aspects are stressed:
- Switch lights on to see and be seen
- Increase headway
- Lower speed to make sure you can stop within the sight distance
- Be alert for unexpected hazards
Driving in dense fog on a highway with traffic. The following aspects are stressed:
- Switch lights on to see and be seen
- Increase headway
- Lower speed to make sure you can stop within the sight distance
- Be alert for unexpected hazards
Driving in rain in a rural area with traffic. The following aspects are stressed:
- Switch lights on to see and be seen
- Increase headway
- Lower speed
- Brake gently and slow down in time, avoid strong decelerations
- Anticipate earlier to give yourself more time to react
Driving in a snowy landscape on a slippery road in a rural area with traffic. The following aspects are
stressed:
- Drive off in second gear
- Drive slowly and in high gear
- Use engine braking as much as possible instead of pedal braking
- Brake gently and slow down in time, avoid strong decelerations
- Increase headway
- Anticipate far in advance
Because the engine stalls more easily and the tires loose their grip sooner, vehicle control is more
difficult.
Driving in a snowy landscape on a slippery road while it is snowing in a rural area with traffic. The
following aspects are stressed:
- Lights on to see and be seen
- Drive off in second gear
- Drive slowly and in high gear
- Use engine braking as much as possible instead of pedal braking
- Brake gently and slow down in time, avoid strong decelerations
- Increase headway
- Anticipate far in advance
Because the engine stalls more easily and the tires loose their grip sooner, vehicle control is more
difficult. In addition, visibility is reduced.
Practice driving on a winding road with oncoming vehicles while experiencing blinding effects of sun
scattering caused by a low standing sun.
Night driving to learn to use the roadlines and light for guidance in the dark. There’s no traffic in this
lesson. The following aspects are stressed:
- Switch lights on to see and be seen
- Use roadlines and objects along the road to see the course of the road
- Look far ahead to see hazards in time
Night driving to learn to use the roadlines and light and the lights of other traffic for guidance in the
dark. There’s traffic in this lesson. The following aspects are stressed:
- Switch lights on to see and be seen
- Use roadlines and objects along the road to see the course of the road
- Look far ahead to see hazards in time
Night driving to learn to use the roadlines and light and the lights of other traffic for in the dark at high
speed on a highway. There’s a lot of traffic in this lesson. The following aspects are stressed:
- Switch lights on to see and be seen
- Use roadlines and objects along the road to see the course of the road
- Look far ahead to see hazards in time