Active Multisensory Perception tool: BUS experience and action comfort

Beauty, Utility, and Simplicity (BUS) are interconnected goals of vehicle design, dependent on several factors including (1) the temporary mood induced in the user and (2) the quality of multisensory integration involved in the active perception of vehicle interiors. Within the affective ergonomics framework, the relationships between vehicle comfort, user's mood, and perceived BUS constitute a stimulating research field. Specifically, action comfort may affect the BUS experience. Here, we describe an advanced experimental environment, called the Active Multisensory Perception tool (AMPt), capable of supporting a variety of studies in this field. AMPt has been developed within the EcoAutobus INDUSTRIA 2015 project, by integrating the latest technologies in body motion tracking (Optotrak), positioning (Velmex actuators), and High-Res 3D visualization for virtual and augmented reality. We also report preliminary results on the usage of AMPt to measure how action comfort affects the perception of facial expressions of emotions. We induced opposite biases in the perception of facial expressions (leading to positive/negative evaluations of neutral faces) by adapting participants to comfortable/uncomfortable visually guided reaching for 3D objects at variable distances. Results are consistent with the idea that action comfort induces a positive mood in the user, which in turn enhances the quality of BUS global experience.