The National Advanced Driving Simulator
(NADS) is the most sophisticated research driving simulator in
the world. Developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
the NADS offers high-fidelity, real-time driving simulation. It
consists of a large dome in which entire cars and the cabs of
trucks and buses can be mounted. The vehicle cabs are equipped
electronically and mechanically using instrumentation specific
to their make and model.At the same time, the motion system, on
which the dome is mounted, will provide 400 square meters of horizontal
and longitudinal travel and nearly 360 degrees of rotation in
either direction. The effect will be that the driver will feel
acceleration, braking and steering cues as if he or she were actually
driving a real car, truck or bus.
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The latest in visual
display technology and a high-fidelity audio system will complete
the driving experience. The test subject will be immersed in
sight, sound and movement so real that impending crash scenarios
can be convincingly presented with no danger to the subject.
Vehicle and driver data can be accurately gathered and stored
and tests repeated with exactitude. TRW was awarded the construction
contract after winning the design competition conducted by NHTSA.
TRW assembled a world-class team that incorporated the latest
in simulation technology in all aspects of the design for the
$50 million project. The team included Dynamic Research, Inc.,
Evans & Sutherland, I*SIM and MTS Systems.
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The NADS is located
at the University of Iowa's Oakdale Research Park, Iowa City,
IA. The site was selected as a result of a national competition
among major transportation research universities conducted for
NHTSA by the National Science Foundation. The University of Iowa
provided $11.58 million in cost sharing to the NADS project, which
included the design and construction of a $5.7 million building
to house the simulator.
The effects of alcohol,
drugs, visual impairments and aging on driving will all be safely
studied using the new research tool. The NADS will provide the
capability for evaluating advanced vehicle communication, navigation
and control technologies which are now being developed as part
of the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) program. The medical
community will look to the NADS to answer questions about the
development and effects of new medicines and prosthetics on driving.
Car companies can use the NADS to develop and test new safety
devices, in conjunction with their own simulators. Human factors
issues, estimated to be a contributing cause of 90 percent of
motor vehicle accidents, will finally be able to be studied in
a safe, accurate and repeatable environment.
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