Abstract—The authors decided to make an attempt to give the preliminary answer to a question: Which of the studied projection systems causes lesser degree of symptoms of simulator sickness during training? For the purposes of the examinations two test platforms were prepared. One equipped with a screen with a cylindrical projection system, the second with "on screen" projection system. This study may be viewed as an instruction for people planning to build similar simulators to those described in the paper. It can be an important support for all those who plan to create such solutions. Index Terms— simulation, visualization, projection systems, simulation sickness, cylindrical view, on screen. I. INTRODUCTION here are many elements in the simulator which determine the functional properties, such as the moving platform, integrated visualization environment and sounds. Their design and parameters should be selected so that the person using system, regardless of its destination (for purposes of training or research) should in all driving conditions have feelings as close as possible to those that would appear in the real world. Of course for system evaluation purposes, reactions of the same person should be compared, because different people may behave differently in the same circumstances. In order to do so, validation studies should be performed that rely on the measurement of certain quantities related to the moving platform, vehicle motion parameters and a broad range of reactions of the driver (the impact on vehicle control properties such as the steering, clutch pedal, brake and gas, driver’s mental or physical conditions, eye tracking, etc.). Of course the ideal situation would be when the corresponding values obtained for the two systems were the same (absolute validation). In practice, however, it is impossible to achieve. Therefore, the current prevailing view is that the quality of the simulator is sufficient (validation relative) if the direction of changes are the same and values are similar or identical in both real and virtual systems. The authors of some works[1] point to the fact that, despite the similar behavior of drivers in the simulator and on the road, some imperfections in the projected image can cause that not all signals from the environment can be perceived by a trainee, and lower resolution causes that many details may not be seen and lighting conditions can be different from the real world. Simulator validation studies should include not only a comparison of such quantities as the speed and trajectory of G. Gudzbeler is with Police Academy in Szczytno, POLAND (phone: +48896245181; e-mail: g.gudzbeler@wspol.edu.pl). A. Urban is with Police Academy in Szczytno, POLAND M. Dabrowski is with Police Academy in Szczytno, POLAND the vehicle, but also aspects of risk including driver's ability to adapt to a particular dangerous situation on the road.[2] An important factor influencing the reactions of the person using the driving simulator is the mutual coupling between a man and a machine, in short called HMI (Human-Machine- Interfaces). The authors decided to make an attempt to give the preliminary answer to a question: Which from studied projection systems causes lesser degree of symptoms of simulator sickness during training? For the purposes of examinations two test platforms were prepared: one equipped with a screen with a cylindrical projection system, the second with "on screen" projection system. II. TEST PLATFORMS SPECIFICATION The paper presents the results of comparative tests carried in consortium by Police Academy in Szczytno, Poland, as a part of the scientific project "Building simulator of driving privileged vehicles in typical and extreme situations". The study involved a standard and widely used system of cylindrical projection and the increasingly popular projection system called "on screen". For the purposes of examinations two test platforms were prepared. One equipped with a screen with a cylindrical projection system, the second with "on screen" projection system. Simulator with cylindrical projection system. Cabin - of intercity bus Autosan A1012T Leader Screen (cylindrical: with radius R = 4.1 m and height h = 3.75 m, angles of sight from a point of view of the driver: angle width: vfov = 180 deg, angle height hfov = 50 deg) Projection system (four projectors Projectiondesign F22 SX +, 1400 x 1050 resolution, brightness - 2100 ANSI lumens, contrast ratio: 2500:1, type of matrix: DLP) That causes the projection system provided an angular resolution in front of the driver's sight - 2.9 arc minute / pixel. Photos 1-3 show the simulator with a cylindrical projection system. Fig. 1. Simulator with a cylindrical screen - a view of the cabin and the screen with displayed image, from outside and from inside of the cabin. Evaluation of Projection Systems for Vehicle Simulator G. Gudzbeler, A. Urban, and M. Dabrowski T Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2012 Vol II WCECS 2012, October 24-26, 2012, San Francisco, USA ISBN: 978-988-19252-4-4 ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online) WCECS 2012