FORUM8 Drive Simulation Solution Selected by The Lebanese American University in Beirut
FORUM8, a global leader in advanced 3D Virtual Reality engineering software and systems has been selected to supply a Traffic Drive simulation solution for The Lebanese American University (LAU), Department of Civil Engineering. The contract, which was awarded following an extensive worldwide tender process includes the installation and support of a driver safety research and training simulator at the LAU Byblos Campus in Beirut.
Installed and commissioned in September this year, the state-of-the-art traffic driving simulator is a key element of the university’s safe mobility research programme aimed at providing enhanced understanding of the social and cognitive factors that impact driving behaviours, within the Lebanese transportation context. In particular the research team plans to use the simulator to evaluate the effects on driving standards resulting from the country’s public policy programmes designed to promote safe driving.
Working with its French partner BMIA based in Bordeaux, the FORUM8 solution comprises a fully equipped production model Mercedes Benz Smart Car mounted on a 4 D-Box actuator motion platform. Incorporating an overhead 3 x projection system and 180° HD screen the integrated system uses a clustered network of PCs and LCD screens controlled from a central master PC running FORUM8’s VR Design Studio (aka UC-win/Road) software.
The VR-Design Studio software enables the LAU researchers to create fully immersive, realistic models of the Lebanese transport network with multiple scenarios designed to test and evaluate driving skills under different environmental, road surface, traffic flow and emergency event conditions.
Including a range of software plug-in options VR Design Studio provides researches with a highly flexible driver diagnostic tool from which to analyse individual driver competencies against every conceivable cognitive factor and common distractions they would need to respond to in the real-world driving environment.
Dr. Brendan Hafferty, FORUM8’s Western Region General Manager said “We are delighted to have been selected to supply our technology for this nationally important project. The LAU team had specified a detailed set of requirements, which needed a bespoke solution bringing together specialist hardware and software components as well as expert technical skills to deliver. The fact that we were able to draw on our extensive experience working with vehicle manufacturers and other research organisations across the globe was a critical factor in winning this prestigious contract.”
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