A University of Queensland project is researching the use of virtual reality computer systems to save real lives by reducing road accidents.
Researchers from the University's Human Movements Studies Department have teamed up with virtual reality experts Silicon Graphics Inc. in the novel project which looks at information used by drivers and child pedestrians to reach decisions on road safety.
They are using state-of-the-art virtual reality systems together with eye movement recording equipment to explore the information drivers use when deciding to brake or turn a corner in hazardous situations.
At the same time, they intend to discover what information children employ when deciding to cross a road.
The Motor Accident Insurance Commission is supporting the project with a $181,000 grant. Work is being conducted by research fellows Dr James Tresilian and Dr Mark Mon-Williams, and Professor Bruce Abernethy.
Dr Tresilian said the two most at-risk groups in road safety statistics were people aged 60 plus, and children to the age of 11.
The researchers initially are examining factors involved in child/vehicle interactions, then hope to apply the model to other age groups. In Queensland in 1995, there were 17 child pedestrian fatalities, with three quarters of the group aged in the 0-11 bracket.
Dr Tresilian said it was clear that many accidents occurred because of mistakes in the psychological process of organising correct responses to the environmental conditions.
"What is not clear is whether inappropriate actions result from errors in response production or incorrect assessments of the visual environment," he said.
"Understanding the underlying processes that allow for driver and pedestrian road safety requires an evaluation of perceptual input and response output."
The project is using the wide range of expertise and equipment available in the University's Perception and Motor Control Laboratory.
Dr Mon-Williams said until recently, it had been difficult to explore the visual information used by drivers and pedestrians when responding to particular road conditions as visual input was dictated by the constraints of the physical world.
Recent innovations in state-of-the-art computer systems (Virtual Reality ) removed these constraints: a virtual world could be created and precisely manipulated to study a driver or pedestrian's response to a particular setting.
In addition, recent developments in technology meant that it was possible to locate precisely where an individual was looking within any particular scene and to measure, with absolute precision, a driver's response to environmental situations.
In conjunction with Dr John Wann of the University of Reading (previously at the University of Queensland), Dr Mon-Williams and Dr Tresilian have been awarded over $1 million from Australian and United Kingdom grant awarding bodies to carry out the research.
As a result of their collaboration with Dr Wann, the University of Queensland researchers are accessing technologically advanced software for use with Silicon Graphics Inc. hardware.
Dr Mon-Williams said the collaboration between the University of Queensland, Silicon Graphics Inc. and the University of Reading represented a unique opportunity to use international standard cutting-edge technology in driving research.
"The research has the potential to improve the body of knowledge on perceptual information used within driving skills," he said.
"The use of cutting-edge technology means that it is possible to isolate the salient information that drivers/pedestrians must use. This information will allow for the principled design of road layout, road signs and cars.
"The knowledge will also allow training and intervention strategies to be specifically tailored on the basis of scientific findings."
The researchers also hope that the recent funding will help provide the University of Queensland's new Neuroscience group (NUQ) with the necessary infrastructure for carrying out behavioural neuroscience research.
The founder of NUQ, Professor Jack Pettigrew, has teamed with Dr Tresilian and Dr Mon-Williams to attract Dr Guy Wallis to the University of Queensland. Dr Wallis, from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tubingen, Germany, is a leading specialist in Silicon Graphics machines and plans to join the research team in September.
For further information, contact Dr Mon-Williams or Dr Tresilian, telephone 07 3365 6817, email markmw@hms.uq.edu.au, or jamest@hms.uq.edu.au
