Using Vertical Dynamics Actuators in the Car as Haptic Feedback for Entertainment Applications

This paper investigates how the car's systems can be integrated into entertainment experiences. Our experiment uses the vehicle's Vertical Dynamics (VD) actuators and interior light of a BMW i7. We aim to improve the immersion of players by integrating the automotive active suspension system into several game experiences. It is used to provide additional haptic feedback to players. In addition, we also use multi-color interior lighting to provide visual cues. We conducted a user study consisting of custom questions and the Player Experience Inventory (PXI) questionnaire. Users liked the experience and felt the haptic feedback correlated with their actions in-game. 16% of users experienced motion sickness when using the system. However, most of them to a mild extent. From the PXI, we could tell that the experience performed on par with the benchmark in regards to immersion. But the games need to be reworked by incorporating progressive feedback. We were able to show that a vehicle's VD actuators can be used to provide noticeable and in-synch haptic feedback. The average latency of around 120 ms of our setup proved to be a bottleneck, which needs to be addressed in future work.