VR-WISE: VR based work zone immersive simulation with eye tracking and biometric sensors for capturing driver’s awareness

Ensuring safety in roadway work zones remains a major challenge, as current measures have not fully eliminated risks. Accidents around work zones often stem from the unpredictable behavior of both drivers and workers, highlighting the need to better understand their interactions and perceptions in these environments. Advances in virtual reality (VR) and high-fidelity simulation platforms like CARLA make it possible to observe behaviors in hazardous scenarios without exposing participants to real-world danger. This paper introduces VR-WISE, a VR-based traffic co-simulation platform designed to capture rich driver behavior data around work zones. The system integrates full-scene customization, animated roadway workers, and real-time driver monitoring through eye-tracking and biometric sensors. VR-WISE supports rapid work zone scenario generation and enables the collection of detailed multimodal data to study how drivers perceive and respond to dynamic roadside activity. A user study across three distinct work zone scenarios demonstrates the platform’s capabilities. Drivers' perception around work zones was evaluated using gaze metrics (e.g., duration and fixation ratios), along with physiological signals such as heart rate, electrodermal activity (EDA), and blood volume pulse (BVP), allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of drivers' attention.