In our laboratory of Soso-Kan (Building No.14) underground, we have a driving simulator (DS) to conduct the experimental research related to driving a car. This driving simulato r has a real car body and a 360-degree field of view. Its driving maneuver is almost the same procedure as that of the real car equipped with the automatic transmission (AT). Room mirror and right/left side mirrors are also same as that of the real car. Therefore, the driver can see the images on the backward screens through the mirrors with the polarizing film, instead of the LCD monitor or the inset images on the front screen.
The DS is equipped with a six-degree-of-freedom electric motion system under the car body and it reproduces not only the vibrations generated by the road surface or the seam between the roads(joint) when vehicle is running but also vehicle movement in the axes with pitch, roll and yaw based its acceleration/deceleration. In the DS, typical visual database (CG image) are as follows.
・Virtual urban area (Standard urban area, New urban area)
・Virtual highway
・Kannai/Minato-Mirai District (Center area of Yokohama city)
・Metropolitan expressway, Route 3 and 6 (Mukojima Ramp -> Toshinkanjo (Inner Circular Route) -> Shibuya Ramp, Takagicho Ramp -> Toshinkanjo (Inner Circular Route) -> Ryogoku Junction)
・Metropolitan expressway, Route 4 (Hatagaya Ramp -> Miyakezaka Junction, Miyakezaka Junction -> Hatagaya Ramp)
・Metropolitan expressway, Ohashi Junction (between Route 3 and Central Circular Route)
・Metropolitan expressway, Nishi-Shinjuku Junction (between Route 4 and Central Circular Route)
・Tomei expressway (Gotemba Interchange -> Entrance of Azumayama Tunnel)
At present, we can create visual database of road environment freely. (however it is not possible to reflect the road gradient into visual database) |