ABSTRACT
During the past decade, Virtual Reality (VR) has become a useful research and development tool with many practical applications including entertainment, product prototyping, training, and assessment. There are various different kinds of VR systems, ranging from relatively simple desktop systems to more advanced systems where the virtual environment is projected on the walls in a room or in a head mounted display (HMD). The present paper will only deal with the latter category, also known as immersive virtual reality (IVR) (Draper, 1998). Recently, the possibilities of using VR as a clinical tool for rehabilitation and assessment of cognitive impairments have been increasingly exploited (e.g. Pugnetti et al, 1994). In theory, IVR systems should be very useful for testing and evaluating behaviour in potentially dangerous situations as the situation can be repeated and mistakes will not cause accidents or other harm. One potential application of this paradigm is the testing and evaluation of elderly automobile drivers’ behaviour in hazardous traffic situations.
