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The University of Iowa Public Policy Center and the UI College
of Engineering Center for Computer-Aided Design (CCAD) have received
an 18-month, $375,000 U.S. Department of Transportation contract
to design and evaluate different types of rear-end collision
avoidance displays. The project will help guide public policy
in terms of safety for the design and operation of such warning
systems.
Daniel McGehee, a crash safety and human factors researcher and
director of human factors research at the Public Policy Center,
will direct the project along with John Lee, associate professor
of industrial engineering and a human factors expert.
McGehee notes that approximately 25 percent of all vehicular
collisions are rear-end crashes. "The project will consider
both how collision-avoidance information is best presented to
drivers and the equally important inner workings of the sensor
and computer algorithms that tell the system how to present crash
warning information," McGehee says. The research results
will help automotive safety engineers design more effective rear-end
collision avoidance systems.
McGehee and Lee will develop prototype in-vehicle auditory and
visual displays and test the systems on the Iowa Driving Simulator.
"The Iowa Driving Simulator allows us to put drivers into
circumstances too dangerous to test on the road," McGehee
says.
by Gary Galluzzo
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