Video: A partnership between the Australian Road Research Board and the Curtin-Monash Accident Research Center will see the Southern hemisphere’s most advanced driving simulator installed at Curtin University’s Technology Park, where it will be used to study the impact of driverless cars, distractions like mobile phones, and new designs for roadways.
The CKAS Mechatronics Full Driving Simulator will be used at Curtin by the ARRB and C-MARC to study driver behaviour and road infrastructure, with one of its most interesting applications being research into the effects of driverless and semi-autonomous cars like the Tesla Model S on both the drivers themselves and other road users.
The simulator uses 360-degree wrap-around visuals and is built on top of an otherwise fully functioning Kia, complete with manual transmission, clutch, brake, accelerator and power steering still working within the simulator itself. Another layer of mechatronics adds the forces and loads associated with those inputs to recreate the feeling of driving or being a passenger.