At the intersection of automotive engineering and human psychology sits a unique laboratory where high-performance simulators meet advanced biometric monitoring. This cutting-edge facility doesn't just recreate the driving experience—it captures the subtle physiological responses that reveal how humans truly behave behind the wheel.
Facility
Ohio State's high-tech driving simulators reveal the science behind human performance.
Our lab brings together state-of-the-art driving simulators with advanced physiological monitoring to understand what really happens when humans take the wheel.
Simulator Systems
Advanced Motion Simulator
The flagship system consists of a fully instrumented sedan cab mounted on a MOOG 2000e hexapod motion base, providing six degrees of freedom. The visual display features a sweeping 260° cylindrical front-projection screen that seamlessly blends images from five high-resolution projectors.
To complete the driving experience, a dedicated projector screen behind the cab allows the rear-view mirror to show the scene behind the car, while the side mirrors have been replaced with LCD displays.
Vehicle Integration Platform
This drive-on configuration allows testing of complete vehicles under controlled conditions. Vehicles connect to a battery charger and operate their electrical systems while facing a front-projection screen, enabling testing of vehicle-specific interfaces and controls.
Development Workstation
A desktop simulation environment facilitates the creation, testing, and refinement of driving scenarios before deployment to the larger systems.
Software Architecture
The simulation infrastructure runs on an integrated software suite from Realtime Technologies Inc., including
- SimCreator and SimCreator DX for core simulation
- SimVista for scenario development
- SimDriver for autonomous driving capabilities
This comprehensive platform handles everything from motion-based control through its Motion Drive algorithm to multibody dynamics editing.
Physiological Monitoring
The lab incorporates advanced human measurement systems:
Visual Behavior Tracking
A SmartEye Pro system with three cameras monitors:
- Gaze and head movement patterns
- Eyelid position and blink frequency
- Pupil response
Biometric Monitoring
An Empatica EmbracePlus wearable device that has onboard sensors:
- A photoplethysmogram (PPG) that can measure heart rate
- Electrodermal activity (EDA), also known as galvanic skin response, measuring the electrical conductivity of the skin
- Skin temperature
- Hand motion