The simulator is supposed to be a real wheelchair that does not move; a driver just sits in the simulator and drives the wheelchair within the VR environment projected through the monitor or Head Mounted Display (HMD). The simulator also has a function for evaluating driving skills.

Currently, UC-win/Road can simulate vehicles that travel on land, sea, and in the air. The behaviour of a VR model representing any one of these vehicles in UC-win/Road is either controlled by input devices (Joy Stick, steering wheel, etc.) or is based on a pre-defined 3D route (flight path).

To simulate the wheelchair operation, the vehicle simulation function of UC-win/Road’s function for vehicle simulation has been enhanced to enable wheelchairs to move freely even on slopes and uneven grounds including sidewalks and roads and to drive over small bumps and obstacles, for example, driving over a sidewalk from a carriageway.

In addition, in the wheelchair simulation, users can drive a VR model representing a particular wheelchair by using a keyboard or gamepad, or by sitting on an actual wheelchair (WHILL Model CR in the image) and operating the joystick attached to it. Please refer to the system overview for more information.

When a driving simulation is finished, a text file with summarized simulation results including simulation time, distance traveled, etc. and simulation records such as positions of the wheelchair and operation data collected from the joystick is generated, which can then be utilized for further analysis (driving performance evaluation).