The use of virtual reality and physical tools in the development and validation of ease of entry and exit in passenger vehicles

• Inconsistent entry strategies were observed in a CAVE virtual environment.
• The CAVE needs development to support design for ease of entry and exit.
• Representation of vehicular hard points is necessary for optimising entry and exit.
• Various combinations of methods are required at different stages of vehicle development.

Ease of entry and exit is important for creating a positive first impression of a car and increasing customer satisfaction. Several methods are used within vehicle development to optimise ease of entry and exit, including CAD reviews, benchmarking and buck trials. However, there is an industry trend towards digital methods to reduce the costs and time associated with developing physical prototypes. This paper reports on a study of entry strategy in three properties (buck, car, CAVE) in which inconsistencies were demonstrated by people entering a vehicle representation in the CAVE. In a second study industry practitioners rated the CAVE as worse than physical methods for identifying entry and exit issues, and having lower perceived validity and reliability. However, the resource issues associated with building bucks were recognised. Recommendations are made for developing the CAVE and for combinations of methods for use at different stages of a vehicle's development.