TRL launches VR blind spot detector

UK-based research establishment TRL has launched a blind spot simulator rig which uses virtual reality to improve truck cab design, road layouts and improve the safety of road users and reduce costs for designers. The precision of the system is based on a physical rig developed by TRL and Volvo. It ensures an accurate representation of direct vision from a real-life Volvo vehicle cab which allows seat, steering and wheel adjustments to be replicated for each driver.
October 6, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

UK-based research establishment 491 TRL has launched a blind spot simulator rig which uses virtual reality to improve truck cab design, road layouts and improve the safety of road users and reduce costs for designers.

The precision of the system is based on a physical rig developed by TRL and 609 Volvo. It ensures an accurate representation of direct vision from a real-life Volvo vehicle cab which allows seat, steering and wheel adjustments to be replicated for each driver. The VR experience is then reconfigured to reflect their physical dimensions and individual seat positions - which results in an accurate replication of driving a real vehicle.

Ceki Erginbas, senior researcher at TRL, said: "With this calibrated system, we can accurately test new vehicles or road environment designs, without the need to physically build them. We can also accurately recreate traffic accidents, from the viewpoint of different people located at the scene.  

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Keeping a watching brief over traffic flows
    March 11, 2015
    Monitoring traffic flows is set to become an even bigger challengebut a revolution in camera technology can help, as Patrik Anderson explains. By 2025 almost 60% of the world’s population will live in urban areas and in those cities there will be an estimated 6.2 billion private motorised trips every day. In order to manage this level of traffic growth, traffic management centres (TMCs) will need to both increase their monitoring capabilities and be able to detect traffic problems quickly, efficiently and r
    Read More
  • Vaisala: Weather data is vital for connected vehicles
    August 26, 2016
    Vaisala’s Dr Kevin Petty explains why the weather will continue to play a big part in road safety and traffic management in the smart cities of the future. The world is becoming increasingly connected. Thanks to advances in information and communications technology, the cities we live in are becoming ‘smart’, with everything from education to law enforcement managed by integrated tech solutions in a bid to improve quality of life.
    Read More
  • IRD complements WIM with tyre under-inflation detection
    May 8, 2015
    To complement its existing WIM offering, IRD has introduced a system to detect under-inflated and flat tyres at highway speeds. Tyre inflation pressure has both safety and economic impacts for road users and none more so than with commercial vehicles. An underinflated tyre has decreased directional control, increased risk of catastrophic failure, and negatively impacts tyre life and fuel economy. In June 2014 the USDOT published Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2012 in which the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
    Read More
  • LiDAR sets its sights on future problems
    February 23, 2017
    AAdvances in LiDAR are helping transport authorities improve services and identify potential problem areas, as geospatial technology expert Dr Neil Slatcher explains. The effects of climate change on the transport infrastructure have long been a cause of concern within the transportation sector - and not only on the structures themselves but also on the surrounding areas. This year, those concerns have become reality with landslides, structural collapses and surfacing issues impacting services across the wo
    Read More

Highlighted Content