Look back at our accomplishments and research projects from the year 2025, including our research on driving impairment from alcohol and distraction, advanced driver assistance systems, advances in simulation tech, and more

Director of engineering and modeling research Chris Schwarz appeared on IPR's 'River to River' talking about our work turning the NADS-1 simulator into a moon rover simulation

This past year, we drove on the moon. In simulation, anyway.

The University of Iowa’s longstanding leadership in driving simulation research was on full display last week at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California. NASA hosted a major workshop on “Lunar Autonomy Mobility” for the South Pole Pathfinder/Rover project, where the University of Iowa was represented by current and former faculty, researchers, and alumni.

The Driving Safety Research Institute works with students from across the country, and learn about their research on assessing driver monitoring systems, understanding of advanced driver assistance systems, connected simulation, and new features to miniSim in our 2024 Year in Review.

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.

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.

Check out our recent highlights and accomplishments from the Driving Safety Research Institute, home of the National Advanced Driving Simulator.

From IEEE Xplore magazine, this article summarizes the capabilities and history behind the National Advanced Driving Simulator.

We were recently featured in the Iowa City episode of John McGivern's Main Streets showcasing many of Iowa City's hidden gems. Check out this episode to see why Iowa City is a town for everyone!