The Nebraska Transportation Center has expanded its research capabilities with the addition of a Half Cab miniSim driving simulator equipped with Motion Base and Video Capture add-ons. The simulator gives faculty a new way to study driver behavior, vehicle interaction, and roadway conditions in a controlled environment while supporting customized research scenarios that would be difficult, costly, or unsafe to test on public roads.
A flexible platform for transportation research
Developed by the University of Iowa’s Driving Safety Research Institute, the miniSim platform is designed for accurate, repeatable driving research. The Half Cab configuration uses a real vehicle front section with operational controls to create a natural driving experience for participants, while the system can be configured with wide-field displays, including a 180-degree view. Researchers can also build custom road networks and scenarios, vary traffic and environmental conditions, and collect detailed measures related to steering, speed control, braking, lane keeping, reaction time, and other driver responses.
The Motion Base add-on enhances realism by adding heave, roll, and pitch cues along with vibration tied to road surface, speed, and engine RPM. The Video Capture system provides high-definition recording that can support observation and post-test analysis. Together, these features make the simulator well suited for studies in human factors, driver distraction, advanced vehicle technologies, roadway design, training concepts, and other transportation safety and operations topics.
For University of Nebraska faculty, the simulator opens new opportunities to launch pilot studies, strengthen sponsored research proposals, and support interdisciplinary collaboration across transportation engineering, planning, human factors, and safety. Faculty interested in exploring how the simulator could support upcoming research projects are encouraged to contact Dr. Li Zhao at lizhao@unl.edu or Dr. Nathan Huynh at nathan.huynh@unl.edu.
