December 22, 2011
Daniel McGehee, director of the University of Iowa Public Policy Center's Human Factors and Vehicle Safety Research Program and adjunct associate professor in the College of Engineering and College of Public Health, has received a three-year, driving-safety-related contract from Toyota, North America Division.
The project, formally called "Task Analytic and Time Series Analysis of Driver Behavior," involves using the National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) -- a research unit of the UI College of Engineering. McGehee will examine foot behavior at the early stages of the driving sequence, such as vehicle entry, engine start-up, and gear selection.
Toyota's Collaborative Safety Research Center announced the UI project as one of four new research projects -- others are based at Virginia Tech, George Washington University, and the University of Virginia -- focused on the continued development of advanced crash modeling technologies and better protecting vulnerable populations, particularly seniors.
NADS, located at the UI Research Park, is the most sophisticated research-driving simulator in the world. Developed by NHTSA, it offers the world's highest fidelity real-time driving simulation experience.
