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Realtime Technologies
Research Simulation For Distracted Driving

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Distracted Driving Simulation Research

Distracted driving injures or kills 1,000 Americans every day. Each day 660,000 drivers use their cell phones while driving resulting in more than 400,000 deaths and injuries each year. Realtime Technologies is pleased to support distracted driving research with a line of mid- to high-fidelity simulators for cost-conscious researchers, and to work with those researchers to fine-tune their simulator for their work. Our objective is to assist researchers who study the impact of cell phone use and texting on vehicle safety, with the hope that better understanding of distracted driving will assist in the development of technology (such as hands-free devices), programs, and policy to improve traffic safety. Using simulation technology, Realtime Technologies can help researchers study the impact of cell phone use on dangerous driving behavior that can lead to a crash.

Simulator Solutions Optimized for Distracted Driving Studies

Realtime Technologies Simulators are an integrated hardware/software solution.  They arrive ready-to-run, pre-loaded with scenarios based on the Driver Distraction Guidelines provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The hardware system is built into a fully instrumented open cockpit vehicle cab with visual cues provided by three 42” high-definition monitors (each supported by its own CPU/GPU with 60 Hz update rate), providing a 150-degree forward field of view.

All of the software elements of your simulator are controlled through SimCreator—our real-time simulation and modeling system.  This is the same core system used in our high-end research and training simulators. The software models have been validated and are used by vehicle manufacturers and researchers around the world.

Realtime Technologies simulators are optimized for easy experiment modification, iteration, and shared facilities: Configuration and reconfiguration, experimental control, results collection, and coordination of all of the elements and dynamics of your simulation are managed through the graphical Operator’s Experimental Interface on the included laptop-based operator workstation.

Simulators ship pre-loaded with stand-alone databases for freeway, city, and rural driving (complete with an ambient traffic model) and driver distraction scenarios based on NHTSA guidelines. It can also include customized simulation scenarios designed by the Realtime Technologies team to fit your specifications. This includes scenarios that involve texting and other cell phone usage behavior as primary sources of distraction that may lead to an increased likelihood of a crash. Whether your research objectives involve improving safety for young drivers or collecting data on the dangers of driving while distracted, Realtime’s ability to measure the impact of cell phone use on driving performance can become a core component of your project.

Distracted Driving Simulation Research Feature

Modules that work with the Driving Distraction Simulator

The simulators can be delivered with stand-alone databases complete with an ambient traffic model or with customized simulation scenarios. Stand-alone databases exist for freeway, city, and rural driving.

SimVista can be used to craft custom simulation scenes and scenarios, either from scratch, or starting from included templates. Any scenario can be modified at any time to run under a variety of visibility and weather conditions–day, night, dusk, fog, rain, snow, and combinations of these, with varying weather intensity–with variable traffic volume and behavior.

SimVehicle allows researchers to customize the vehicles themselves, with full access to all vehicle dynamics.

SimCreator’s modular, scalable software makes it easy to interface other applications into the simulator for testing and development tasks, and to build on your original simulator design as your research expands or changes direction.

 

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Distracted Driving Research Solution

If your team is investigating cell phone use, texting, social media, or other handheld device distraction in teen drivers, we can ensure the best possible simulation environment for this research. Or if you’re investigating the benefits of hands-free devices on reducing distraction, we can support your team to see how this impacts crash risk across different age groups and roadway conditions. But Realtime Technologies isn’t limited to cell phone-related research; we can also assist in the study of drowsy driving and other cognitive impairments to see how these impact behavior like speeding, delayed reaction time, and other factors that can lead to motor vehicle crashes.

 

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Distracted Driving Simulation Customer-for-Life

We invest time in understanding your research needs and policies up front, then work closely with your team to develop and deliver the appropriate distracted driving research solution.  We’ll help you find the best way to integrate this custom solution into your procedures, and support you in maintaining and evolving this solution as your work inevitably changes over time.

We don’t just sell equipment; we partner with researchers and institutions to develop the ideal tools for your distracted driving research. We take the time to understand the objectives of your research project and can tailor our simulation solutions to match.

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Related Simulator: RDS-2000 Full Cab Driving Simulator

Realtime Technologies’ (RTI) RDS-2000 Full Cab Driving simulator is a turn-key driving simulation platform that can be applied to research, training, or automotive product development programs. Our modular, scalable system design means you can build from your original simulator design, adding components and avoiding the need to replace your entire simulator as your fidelity requirements increase.

RDS-2000 Full Cab Driving Simulator