The Massachusetts Daily Collegian

UM prof, students develop computer driving simulator
By Julliette Doro
Collegian Correspondent

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts are working with the Massachusetts Highway Department and private industries to improve road conditions and reduce motorist fatalities.

Using a car with its engine replaced by computer circuitry, Professor Donald Fisher and graduate students in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department are simulating various road conditions such as the location of signs, the use of three-dimensional signs, and collision- warning systems - a radar in the car which signals the driver if an object is in front of it.

Fisher and his associates recently used the $500,000 lab to research for the Central Artery Project in Boston. They tested the location of signs under different conditions to find the best placement for drivers to spot signs early. According to graduate student Rob Glaser, Fisher's lab manager, the state makes preliminary decisions based on the research.

Glaser said it takes him about one hour to construct the realistic scenarios using computer graphics. He can construct scenes, and then change weather or road conditions. Researchers track everything from how hard a driver steers or how fast they brake while the motorist drives the simulator like a regular car.

One of the projects they are working on is testing three- dimensional road signs to see if older drivers will react better. Although they are easier to see, the signs could be more of a distraction to drivers.

"Not knowing how they will react to those signs could be quite dangerous... we want to determine how the motorists will react," Fisher said.

Another project the lab is testing is collision warning systems which would be placed in cars to alert drivers if an object is in front of their car. They test different conditions such as the need for a warning from both sides of the car rather than only one in the front. Glaser said that it is important to test these devices.

"We want to find out how best to design these things so that they won't be more of a distraction than a life saving device," Glaser said.

Some of the institutions who have hired the lab are Motorola, Millitech Corp. of South Deerfield, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Aging and the Massachusetts Highway Department.

Fisher has also visited the White House to show a videotape of the simulator. According to Glaser the federal government is interested in hiring Fisher's lab to conduct a young drivers program.