HumanFIRST Lab showcases upgraded simulator at open house

simulator demo

Researchers at the University of Minnesota’s HumanFIRST Laboratory are constantly working to better understand driver behavior—and to use that understanding to prevent injurious and fatal crashes. One of the key tools assisting them in this mission, the immersive driving simulator, recently got an update.

On December 18, the lab held an open house to allow stakeholders and others interested in human factors research to view and test the newly overhauled simulator. Lab director Nichole Morris led small tours into the simulator room, where guests could take a seat inside the new Ford Fusion cab being used as a motion base. A set of hydraulic arms attached to the car allow it to rock forward, backward, and to either side, giving a sense of motion when the driver turns the wheel. A smooth arc of projection screens around the car allows the researchers to build a virtual environment for the driver to interact with.

“It takes people a bit to really acclimate to the simulator, and it’s going to feel like the strangest rental car you’ve ever driven,” Morris said.

The upgrades began in 2017 and were funded in part by a Research Infrastructure Investment Program grant from the U of M’s Office of the Vice President for Research. Updates include the new motion base and improved hydraulic system as well as a new computer system, projectors, and the seamless screen outside the vehicle for a more immersive environment.

Once drivers get a feel for it, the simulator allows Morris and her team to conduct a variety of research. The simulated worlds, for example, are often geo-specific, meaning they are recreations of actual roadways in Minnesota. This is beneficial for agencies like the Minnesota Department of Transportation because it lets researchers study specific locations and see how people perform in response to modifications such as innovative signage or infrastructure changes.

The simulations can also be used to test new technologies, including connected and automated vehicle systems, and to examine situations that would otherwise be dangerous—such as driving while intoxicated, medicated, distracted, or fatigued.

“We’ve got one [project] coming up where people will be here for almost 36 hours and driving every four hours,” said Peter Easterlund, simulation manager at the lab. Fatigue, he points out, is critical to study because there is currently little known about how to detect it. “At some point,” he said, “fatigue is just as dangerous as drinking.”

To collect data for these projects, the simulator has a series of five infrared cameras and a GoPro mounted inside the car that can track the eye and head movements of the driver. When a threat—like a veering bicyclist—presents itself on the simulator screen, researchers can use the eye trackers to determine, among other things, how quickly the driver notices the threat.

Colonel Matt Langer from the Minnesota State Patrol was one of the volunteers who drove in the simulator at the open house. The system has definitely had a lot of effort put into it to make it as realistic as possible, Langer said, and he likes that it allows testing to be done in a situation where nobody can get hurt. 

“As a traffic safety professional, I’m interested in what the University of Minnesota is doing—things related to the human factors, and what we can learn to help people become better drivers,” Langer said.

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