DigiCar celebrates 100,000 miles with new name

Date: 14/4/2011

DigiCar is the new name of the car driving simulator at TRL's (Transport Research Laboratory) Berkshire headquarters to celebrate the technology reaching 100,000 miles on its clock.

Although it has never moved an inch, the technology has gone the distance in helping researchers to monitor the behaviour of drivers as they manoeuvre through the realistic road images displayed in front of them at the UK's premier driving simulation centre - DigiSim.

Along with the truck simulator DigiTruck, DigiCar has allowed the researchers and psychologists at TRL to gain a valuable insight into the behaviour of drivers in a variety of conditions - including when they have consumed alcohol, are fatigued or are distracted by a mobile phone.

These findings have helped to inform the government when it draws up policy concerning road users.

Along with its new name, DigiCar has also benefited from two new state-of-the-art front projectors, while the software that runs its driving simulator has been upgraded to improve the visual experience of the person using it.

Earlier this month, TRL revealed that its urban traffic control system SCOOT has been featured in the TRAFFEX 25th anniversary poll, where it was named the most transformative network management tool of the past two and a half decades.

Posted by Mary Treen