Skip to main content

Ford upgrades virtual reality simulator

Ford has upgraded its state-of-the-art Virtual Test Track Experiment simulator with improved image rendering technologies and capabilities to study driver performance, helping in the development of safety and driver aid technologies. The company says the simulator has helped in the development of heads-up displays, drowsy driver alerts and lane departure warning technology soon to be available on the all-new Ford Fusion.
March 22, 2012 Read time: 1 min

Ford has upgraded its state-of-the-art Virtual Test Track Experiment simulator with improved image rendering technologies and capabilities to study driver performance, helping in the development of safety and driver aid technologies. The company says the simulator has helped in the development of heads-up displays, drowsy driver alerts and lane departure warning technology soon to be available on the all-new Ford Fusion.

The simulator was developed in 2001 and upgraded image rendering technologies now provide a high-resolution, digitally projected 360-degree horizontal field-of-view to test and measure driver acceleration, braking and steering performance as well as overall driver reactions in varying conditions. The company says that the upgrades will help Ford continue to develop and test active safety and driver aid technologies that warn drivers of imminent collision, drowsiness and other potentially dangerous scenarios behind the wheel.


Related Content

  • Sensors reducing pedestrian-car collisions
    January 22, 2016
    The EU-funded ARTRAC project has developed new sensor technologies which it believes could help meet the European Commission’s target of halving road accidents by 2020. The project, which includes carmakers Volkswagen and Fiat, developed an affordable radar sensor that uses multiple antennas to detect, classify and avoid obstacles on the road before collision and reduce the likelihood of vehicles colliding with pedestrians.
  • Detection analysis technology successfully predicts traffic flows
    February 3, 2012
    David Crawford investigates new detection analysis technology from IBM. Locations on both the East and West Coasts of the US are scheduled for early deployments of IBM's new Traffic Prediction Tool (TPT) statistical analysis model for the fine-time resolution and near-term prediction of road flow conditions. Developed by IBM's Watson Research Laboratories, TPT is designed to analyse data from the the key detection indicators - average vehicle volumes and speeds passing a location in a given time interval -
  • International Road Safety Awards: the winners
    March 4, 2019
    Road accidents are a major blight on the world’s highways - but some companies are attempting to stem the tide. David Arminas reports on the annual Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards
  • Putting a stop to intersection indecision
    March 9, 2015
    David Crawford takes a look at innovations to reduce crashes at rural intersections. Intersection crashes continue to represent a worryingly large share of deaths and serious injuries across US highway networks. Statistics from the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration show that an average of 21% of road traffic accident deaths occur at crossings. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) calculates that intersection crashes account for 48% of all injury-related i