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.

About Us

News

A bearded man stands next to the vehicle cab inside in NADS-2 simulator.

A Plethora of Driver Monitoring System (DMS) Data

Monday, April 15, 2024
Researchers at DSRI have combined data sets from six past studies that all looked at the use of various driver monitoring systems (DMS) to detect drowsiness, distraction, and other types of impairment.
A man drives a car in a driving simulator.

Two simulators, One simulation

Monday, March 25, 2024
In a multi-year project to connect the NADS-1 and NADS-2 simulators into the same virtual environment, the DSRI team upgraded the hardware and vehicle cab of the NADS-2 simulator. A new full cab is in the NADS-2 space, with a motion base for the cab that uses the miniSim architecture.
Birds eye view of an Unreal Engine scenario of a school

New and upcoming features for miniSim users

Monday, February 26, 2024
Our miniSim program is now supporting a few major upgrades plus more upgrades that will be available soon to miniSim users.
An aerial view of two women sitting in the front of a Volvo XC90 while using adaptive cruise control/

The ADAS experts

Monday, February 12, 2024
Our investigators have been working on a series of studies analyzing advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) technology and consumer understanding of ADAS features.
Dawn Marshall and Tim Brown demonstrate the simulator setup for the alcohol detection study.

Driver monitoring systems (DMS) for cannabis and alcohol detection

Wednesday, January 31, 2024
2023 was a year of driver monitoring systems (DMS) analyses for both cannabis and alcohol detection. DMS projects were collaborations between the University of Colorado, Swinburn University, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), and Seeing Machines.
Reichert sits in the half-cab and holds the original Sonata gauge cluster in his right hand and holds the new digital gauge cluster in his left hand

Mechanical engineering student Ken Reichert builds miniSims

Tuesday, January 9, 2024
University of lowa mechanical engineering student Kenneth Reichert has worked on building a custom half-cab simulator alongside miniSim team members for the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
2023 Annual Report cover

2023: A Year in Review

Monday, January 1, 2024
Check out our recent highlights and accomplishments from the Driving Safety Research Institute, home of the National Advanced Driving Simulator.
ADS Webinar 5 screenshot

ADS Webinar #5 recording: 9 Things to Know When Testing AVs on Rural Roads

Tuesday, November 14, 2023
ADS for Rural America project website
Watch the recording of our fifth webinar to learn about our top nine challenges and successes from testing a highly automated vehicle on rural Iowa roads, including driving under automation on gravel, in winter weather, using high speeds (65 mph), and more.
DSRI Open House

Photo Gallery: DSRI Open House

Monday, October 23, 2023
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our public open house on Oct. 18 and took a ride in our automated Transit!
KCRG screenshot

University of Iowa Driving Safety Research Institute holds open house showcasing current work and the future of driving

Friday, October 20, 2023
KCRG TV-9 News
On October 18th, people got an up close look at the work being done here in Eastern Iowa on the future of driving and driver safety.
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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.