Posted: Friday, November 12, 2010 --- 5:00 p.m.

John Lee, a researcher at the UW, is using a $300,000 driving simulator to study how activities like texting are impacting drivers today and how features like personal computers will affect the drivers of tomorrow.

"The fundamental reason for the simulator is to understand how people respond to technology so we can design it better and save lives," Lee says. "The car is designed from the ground up to be the car of the future and something we can use to develop and test next-generation vehicle technology and road infrastructure."

"Cars as we see them today are sort of stupid. They don't really know much about either the driver or the roadway. That's going to change dramatically in the future."

The virtual car is just like the real thing: it has a steering wheel, gauges and rear view mirrors. To make the simulation as real as possible, the vehicle is surrounded by an eight foot high, 240 degree screen. Several projectors put the driver on a virtual highway, and speakers add traffic noise to complete the experience.

The car shifts depending on what the driver does. The simulator even comes equipped with cameras inside the cabin. Those cameras will one day be used to determine how drivers see the road.

"The billions of dollars we spend each year putting signs and traffic signals can be done virtually," said David Noyce, Lee's fellow researcher. During the simulation, he focuses on external factors like road signs. Noyce's hope is that the research will eventually lead to a safer and more effective roadway. Eventually, highways may have fewer signs.

Said Noyce, "It can be done by providing information directly to the driver through information hubs along the road way beyond some of the traffic control devices that may exist."

Since the projectors of the simulator render images at the same resolution as the human eye, the simulator can test new vehicle technologies and road infrastructure quickly. They can use it to project signs as they would appear on an actual road.