FROM INTERACTIVE FLIGHT SIMULATOR TO DRIVING SIMULATOR

DRIVING IS A BEHAVIOR THAT, LIKE FLYING, IS THOUGHT TO BE LARGELY GUIDED BY VISUAL INFORMATION. PUBLIC SAFETY DEMANDSTHAT THIS PRIVILEGE SOMETIMES BE DENIED, POSTPONED, OR REVOKED BECAUSE OF DEFICIENT VISION. UNFORTUNATELY, THE MINIMAL VISUAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DRIVING VARY MARKEDLY ACROSSSTATES. DETERMINING THE MINIMAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DRIVING WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT AS THE PREVALENCE OF BOTHELDERLY AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSONS INCREASES. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP AN INTERACTIVE DRIVING SIMULATOR THAT COULD BE USED TO TRAIN, EVALUATE, AND STUDY DRIVING PERFORMANCE IN VISUALLY AND PHYSICALLY IMPAIRED PERSONS AS WELL AS NEW AND ELDERLY DRIVERS. IN PHASE I, SINTEX CORPORATION WILL CONSTRUCT A PROTOTYPE INTERACTIVE DRIVING SIMULATOR INCORPORATING ADVANCED DISPLAYTECHNOLOGY, AS USED IN MODERN FLIGHT SIMULATION. THE SPECIFIC AIMS OF PHASE I ARE: (1) TO DEVELOP REALISTIC VISUALS (THE DATABASE) FOR A DRIVING SIMULATOR AND (2) TO INTEGRATE THIS VISUAL DATABASE WITH, INITIALLY, THREE COMPONENTS OF A DRIVING CONSOLE: STEERING WHEEL, BRAKE, AND ACCELERATOR. IN PHASE II, THE VISUAL DATABASE WILL BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDEBOTH A CRITICAL-INCIDENT AS WELL AS ROUTINE DRIVING SCENARIOS IN A WORKING PROTOTYPE. THE EFFICACY OF THIS PROTOTYPE WILL THEN BE FIELD-TESTED.