This paper focuses on the development, application and validation of an affordable, moderately high fidelity simulator using appropriate technology for driver training, licensing and assessment. After introductory remarks about the use of simulation for training and testing in other industries, and why simulation has not heretofore been successful in the automotive community, the paper reports on a series of diverse, loosely coordinated research projects under way at several institutions in North America. These projects, taken individually, are evaluating the viability of simulation for diverse applications. Despite this diversity, however, and despite the breadth of the organizations performing this research (including universities, hospitals, motor vehicle agencies, law enforcement training academies and standards-setting bodies), there is a common thread that binds these programs together. That is, they are each part of an integrated effort to develop, refine, test and validate a particular simulator technology, one which could eventually see widespread application. (A)
Abstract