Principal Investigator(s):
Daniel Boley, Professor, Computer Science and Engineering
Project summary:
The Human Factors Research Laboratory programmatic support plan focuses on three major areas for FY96, modeling capability improvements, virtual reality applications, and driving behaviors using the wraparound simulator. These foci have an ultimate safety agenda that responds to road traffic accidents as the leading cause of death for individuals in the US up to the age of 40. The modeling capability approach is to extend the methodology from John Carmody's project which simulates driving through the Lowry Hill tunnel. The extension is to develop the ability to import *.DXF roadway design databases and transform them into visualization to facilitate simulated driving on new roads before they are built thereby providing a drive on it before building. The virtual reality approach is (1) to ascertain navigational reactions to different map orientation presentations in vehicles (Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) while driving through simulated roadway environments and (2) determine reactions to driving in a simulator based upon the projection sizes of the street scenes. The driving behavior using the wraparound simulator approach is to determine the internal and external variables influencing time-to-contact factors at intersections. The factors include size, direction, and velocity of the approaching vehicle and associated reaction times before a crash. In addition to establishing the experiment set with under 40 subjects, an extension will be undertaken using elder drivers. Another experiment set seeks a more complete understanding of the role of how visual/perceptual information, in the form of an optical flow field, mediates vehicular control in the aging driver. Finally, recommendations will be made for initiating an elder and disadvantaged driver research program which emphasizes assisted driving and collision avoidance. The results will be presented at the CTS 7th Annual Transportation Research Conference in May. 1996. Selected topics from la
Project details:
- Project number: 1994018
- Start date: 03/1995
- Project status: Completed
- Research area: Transportation Safety and Traffic Flow
- Topics:
Intelligent vehicles