Our Mission

We aim to make roads safer by researching the connection between humans and vehicles. We are home to the National Advanced Driving Simulator, and we now have a new name for our broader institute: the Driving Safety Research Institute.

News

gravel road KCRG screenshot

Univ. of Iowa researchers aim to expand transportation options in rural parts of the state

Monday, November 4, 2024
The University of Iowa recently completed a research project on a self-driving van. Specifically, it’s looking at how these automated vehicles could work in rural parts of the state.
Omar Ahmad in front of the automated shuttle bus

‘We can not forget about rural America’: UI researchers working towards accessible transportation

Tuesday, October 29, 2024
The University of Iowa Driving Safety and Research Institute recently completed a research project to help rural America. The project hopes to combat challenges facing rural communities across Iowa and the nation.
Automated Transit on gravel road

Working to safely bring automated driving to rural roads

Thursday, October 17, 2024
Researchers at the Driving Safety Research Institute at the University of Iowa have completed more than three years of testing to learn the challenges automated vehicles encounter when operating on rural roads.
Elizabeth O'Neal explains children crossing behavior with self-driving cars

Children as pedestrians: Pedestrian safety and self-driving cars

Monday, September 16, 2024
The National Science Foundation features our partners at the Hank Virtual Environments Lab and our facility at DSRI in a new video on children crossing roads with self-driving cars.
Diagram of a standard four-lane road next to a diagram of a three-lane road with a center turn lane

Iowa research examines impact of ‘road diets’ on emergency response

Friday, August 9, 2024
A new study from University of Iowa researchers examines how converting four-lane roads to three-lane roads impacts emergency responses.
Inside the NADS-1 simulator

University of Iowa testing drunken driver sensing technology

Monday, July 15, 2024
The Gazette reports: The UI Driving Safety Research Institute — home to the National Advanced Driving Simulator — recently landed $2 million from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to assess how effective new driver monitoring systems might be at determining if someone is driving drunk.
Inside the NADS-1 simulator with graduate student Emily Shull and staff member Noah Rothermel

Driving Safety Research Institute analyzing new tech to identify alcohol impairment

Wednesday, June 12, 2024
The University of Iowa Driving Safety Research Institute was recently awarded $2 million from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to analyze the effectiveness of driver monitoring systems on their ability to detect if someone is driving while drunk—specifically, if they are over the legal limit or not.
Communicator Award of Excellence

2022 DSRI Annual Report wins national communications award

Friday, May 24, 2024
Our 2022 Annual Report has been recognized by the 30th Annual Communicator Awards by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts (AIVA).
A group of students huddle around a portable driving simulator.

Celebrating 10 years of SAFER-SIM

Monday, April 22, 2024
Safety Research Using Simulation (SAFER-SIM) is a grant-funded Tier 1 University Transportation Center that shares its research with both students and researchers. See a summary of its impact over the last 10 years.
Automated shuttle bus on rural Iowa road

ADS for Rural America

Learn more about our Automated Driving Systems (ADS) for Rural America project, which drove a partially-automated shuttle bus through Iowa City, Hills, Riverside, and Kalona, Iowa. 

NADS-1 bay, 3D globe image

Tour our tech

Take a 360 degree virtual tour of our facility, and learn more about our technology and expertise.