Driving simulators for research

In cooperation with Dutch universities and research institutes (University of Groningen, University of Delft, SWOV, TNO) ST Software has designed a general research simulator platform that standardizes various aspects of simulator based research. With this driving simulator platform, researchers are able to:

• Build databases
• Create experimental simulations
• Test these on a low-cost simulator from the desk-top
• Define all data to be sampled and stored
• Analyze the data

In addition, the platform creates a standard for:

• Logical and graphical databases
• Dependent variables like time-to-line crossing, time headway etc.
• Scenario specification language

An important feature of the research simulator is that it allows any number of simulators to be connected (Multicabin driving, a brochure is available on request): drivers and autonomous agents share the same world (database) in different simulators, and are integrated into one big simulation. This opens up a whole range of new applications for driving simulators, such as training coordinated actions of fire departments, police and other emergency services, and studying social psychological aspects of car driving.

ST Software provides a number of software packages which, together, form a complete driving simulator software suite. The functionality included enables researchers to configure a range of different types of driving simulators. Together with the tools to create graphical 3D databases and simulations, researchers are able to configure and create a driving simulator that matches their specific needs. Scientific experiments on driving behaviour can be designed and run fast and efficiently. All packages are integrated products that closely work together. Two packages are used in the design (off-line) phase (StRoadDesign and StScenario), one program is for offline data-inspection and -analysis (StDataProc) while the others are used in the runtime simulations. With these software packages, developers are then able to create both fully functional driving simulators as well as all relevant content, such as databases and simulations for their driving simulators. The runtime modules are StTraffic (for the real-time traffic and scenario model simulation with script playing enabled), StControl (for GUI and datacommunication) StRender (for rendering of the databases and simulations) and StSoundEngine (for 3D soundgeneration). The following modules are available:

• StRoadDesign. Graphical road databases can be created with the ST-RoadDesign package. The designer package generates both graphical and ‘logical’ databases for the intelligent traffic in StTraffic. Driving simulations can be run with StTraffic and visualized directly in StRender, using these databases.
• StScenario. The driving simulations are generated with the scripting language StScenario, developed by ST Software, for which a handy script tool is included. This scripting language is very versatile, and easy to learn for people with a technical background. The scripts results in fast runtime simulations with high framerates in StTraffic, even when more than 100 intelligent agents (vehicles or bicyclists) are simulated simultaneously. Script may even be used to add as many external computers as desired, for special tasks that communicate with the simulator.
• StControl. With the graphical user interface StControl the system can be configured and as many renderers added as required. Is it possible to add external vehicle models or use an internal vehicle model. Users may add their own vehicle cabin or control the driving simulator with a game set. This allows for full scalability: the driving simulators can range from low to high end.
• StRender. The rendering package, StRender, is a configurable real-time renderer in which viewing angles, viewing positions and viewports can be defined. It is easy to add as many renderers as required. Systems may then range from simple 1-channel simulators with only the roadview ahead on a single monitor, to a full 360° field of view with multiple channels and projection screens.
• StTraffic. Scenario-generation and traffic model software that reads the logical databases and StScenario script language. The research simulator licence includes the ability to generate your own databases and write script code that is played by StTraffic.
• StSoundEngine. 3D soundgeneration program.
• StDataProc. Offline data-inspection and -analysis software for binary datafiles with data sampled in StTraffic.

The complete development software licence includes all these packages plus full documentation. Also, a number of example databases and simulation scripts are included.