A virtual prototyping system for vehicle visibility evaluation

This paper presents a virtual prototyping (VP) system for digital fabrication of automobile environment to facilitate rapid visibility evaluation. The system comprises a suite of software packages for image generation and hardware control processes, including driving environment simulation, vision examination, integrated with eye-tracking and position tracing system based virtual reality (VR) technology. Such design makes the VP system adaptable to suit the visual field mapping and assessment applications. The VR system creates a immersive environment for stereoscopic visualisation and analysis of visibility. A fuzzy set was used for evaluation of the feasibility. Compared with road test using real vehicles, it is relatively cost-effective and easy to operate. It provides simulation techniques to analyse and improve the design of automobile and its fabrication processes. Through simulations, assessment and modification of automobile vision design can be iterated without much worry about the manufacturing and material costs of prototypes.