Welcome

The Vehicle Simulation group, led by Associate Professor P R Grant, conducts research in the area of vehicle simulation with an emphasis on human control. High-fidelity human-in-the-loop simulators find many applications within the aerospace and automotive industry, from the traditional training tools to the more recent use as engineering tools. For training purposes the fidelity of these simulators should be driven by the requirements for effective training. Currently only a rudimentary understanding of the fidelity requirements for effective transfer of training exists, further research is thererfore necessary.

Engineering simulators act as virtual test facilities where human operators can test vehicles and/or vehicle systems under completely repeatable conditions early in their design cycle, thereby reducing the costs and improving designs. To be an effective design tool however, these simulators must accurately reproduce the vehicle behaviour and the motion cues that the human uses to control, test and evaluate the vehicle and/or vehicle system. Simulator developers do not yet understand what the important cues are or how accurately they need to be reproduced for the virtual vehicle test to be a meaningful surrogate for the real vehicle test. Research aimed at answering these questions is ongoing.

Further information on the research projects as well as a complete directory of the group's members is available on the following pages. A list of the most recent publications and links to the group's facilities are online for your convenience. Details on how to apply to become a member of the research group are also listed.