Toyota develops unique driving simulator to aid development of active Safety technology
Toyota's driving simulator
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced today that it has developed a unique driving simulator for effectively analyzing the driving characteristics of average drivers to aid in the development and verification of traffic accident-reducing active safety technology.
The driving simulator, located at TMC’s Higashifuji Technical Center in Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, uses video, an acceleration simulator and other technology that allows vehicle researchers and developers to conduct driving tests that would be too dangerous to perform in the real world or that require specific driving conditions.
Key to this virtual reality is the use of an actual vehicle placed on a platform housed inside a 7.1-meter-diameter dome, the ceiling of which serves as a giant 360-degree concave video screen. As the driver operates the vehicle, a tilt device, vibration apparatus and other devices manipulate the dome—which has a longitudinal range of movement of 35 meters and lateral range of movement of 20 meters—under precision computer control. This tool can provide a sense of speed, acceleration and riding comfort through turns and other driving manoeuvres. Sound effects make the experience even more real. It should be noted that the OEM's most advanced in this area was so far Renault with a simulator moving into a 7x7 meters area, and that PSA is currently developing a similar tool.
The driving simulator will mainly be used for the analysis of driving characteristics and development of active safety technology and for verifying the effectiveness of active safety technology.
Dome size : Height 4.5m; diameter 7.1m
Dome mobility : Max. 35m lengthways, 20m sideways
Dome tilt: Max. 25 degrees
Level of Vibration: Max. variation of 50mm up or down
Sensation of speed: Max. 0.5G
Turntable rotation: Max. 330 degrees in either direction
