News

Hiroyuki Sugiyama, professor of mechanical engineering, University of Iowa

UI's driving simulation expertise featured at NASA-Ames Research Center meeting

Thursday, May 1, 2025
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.
distracted driver using a cell phone about to hit a pedestrian

Podcast: Safety Behind the Wheel

Friday, April 25, 2025
Podcast host Peggy Smedley and Dan McGehee, director of the Driving Safety Research Institute, discuss distracted driving research, physiological changes that happen with smartphones, and the most dangerous type of distraction.
Omar Ahmad portrait in front of National Advanced Driving Simulator

Ahmad honored with prestigious Board of Regents Staff Excellence Award

Monday, March 3, 2025
Omar Ahmad, deputy director of DSRI, will be awarded the prestigious 2025 Board of Regents Staff Excellence Award for his exceptional leadership, dedication, and contributions to the University of Iowa, the state, and the broader research community.
2024 Driving Safety Research Institute Year in Review cover photo

2024: A Year in Review

Friday, December 20, 2024
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.
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

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.