It sounds like just the thing for video game buffs, but this one is very much geared towards designing technology to help make driving safer.
It’s the world’s largest and most advanced driving simulator, run by Lexus at its research campus in Higashifuji, Japan. A series of complex, interlocking full motion tracks span the interior of a room the size of a football field. On top of the tracks sits a round domed structure, approximately 4.6m high and 17m in diameter, supported on a full three-axis hexapod system.
Inside the dome, a real Lexus vehicle is mounted to a turntable, allowing drivers to test and experience actual vehicle controls. A high-definition imaging system provides a full 360-degree environment of roads around the vehicle, and drivers can see and hear traffic and the city around them, including receding scenery that’s viewable in the side- and rear-view mirrors.
The pod is able to tip forward, backward and from side-to-side, and coupled with the track system, which moves the pod in all directions, the simulator can create realistic sensations of acceleration, cornering and handling, being able to mimic speeds of up to 300 kph and a turn angle of 330 degrees to boot.
In essence, the simulator allows engineers to conduct tests to learn about driver behavior and reaction times. Besides traditional traffic incidents, tests are done to determine driver response while distracted by technology such as text messaging, navigation systems and car warnings/displays, as well as driving in poor visibility conditions and while drowsy.
Besides making for newer safer designs, these simulations of different driving scenarios allows engineers to analyse driver reactions before an accident and help determine what technologies can be used to assist in helping to prevent future accidents. So, while it’s not a video game, it’s surely no less cool.
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Can they upload ‘ need for shift ‘ into the system? or GT5? that would be friggin awesome!!!
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Can they have the simulation of all the F1 or great roads all around the word ? i.e. Nurburgring or Transfagarasan Highway ?
Man… this machine ain’t for video game..
U wanna Nurburgring? buy an x box or ps3…
Lexus is an amazing car, sat in one and felt different. Very quiet. But the overall design is not unique enough.
They need better designers – an identity like most German and British cars.
This is what i’ve been trying to tell in all my post but unfortunately got many detractors giving me thumbs down. Japanese designer lack style and identity compared europeans, in fact Americans also lose out to europeans when it comes to designing an identity.
Japanese are good in their ideas and functional stuff ie, electronic gadgets
Perhaps a partnership with european design house will result in better looking cars.
How to drift in this?
Lexus is a division of Toyota, and for all knows Toyota has left a prominent mark in drift motorsports with their AE86. When their Japanese big boss will come in and say
“I want that thing to go SIDEWAYS, just like our old Corolla Trueno AE86.”
and they say “Yes, Boss.”
The question is, can it drift?
cool…this is no disneyland man
Paul,
This machine is an old news… find the link posted a year ago..
http://www.mts.com/en/vehicles/index.asp
http://www.mts.com/stellent/groups/public/documents/library/dev_004365.pdf
This machine means for behavioral study, it is not for a car development simulator like 329 nor 320 type. I prefer 329 which is more challenging..
maybe in the future, we can use this simulator before buy a car..
I heard Toyota developing their car by mostly computer simulation (NOT based on real world test), for cost saving R&D. They developing their cars by computer simulation. that is the reason why their products are recently too faulty.
Toyota is really unsafe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD3nAoSGMns
See this video at 1:00 ~
Car suddenly shaking its handle while driving.
For example, this type of faulty never calculated in computer simulation.
“Toyota’s faulty valve spring.”
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-06/toyota-received-complaints-about-lexus-defect-in-2007.html
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/toyota-knew-about-defective-valve-springs-three-years-ago-ar93078.html
“Faulty ESC control. Don’t Buy: Safety Risk–2010 Lexus GX 460”
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/04/consumer-reports-2010-lexus-gx-dont-buy-safety-risk.html
it reminds me of Akira..