DRiVE lab Homepage

The University of Guelph DRiVE lab (short for Driving Research in Virtual Environments) is a multi-disciplinary research facility that houses both fixed and moving base simulators and brings together faculty researchers from Psychology/Neuroscience (Lana Trick), Engineering (Michelle Oliver) and Computer Science (Andrew Hamilton-Wright, Blair Nonnecke).

Automobile collisions are a leading cause of injury and death in Canada. Not only do collisions cause pain and suffering but they also cost taxpayers millions of dollars every year. The goal of the DRiVE lab is to find ways to reduce collisions by investigating factors that affect crash risk. To accomplish this we use driving simulators. Our Oktal simulator (pictured below) is comprised of a complete car body surrounded by viewing screens that provide a 300o wrap-around virtual environment, and it features high resolution projectors, robust software, realistic simulated environments and a variety of physical feedback systems that provide drivers with the sights, sounds, and some of the sensations of driving while sparing them of the associated risks. We use the simulator to study the impact of in-vehicle technologies (including partial automation), driver distraction, the effects of drugs and alcohol as well as the impact of individual differences, including differences in driver age and experience and driving in at-risk populations such as those with ADHD.

University of Guelph Driving Simulator

In The News

  • PhD student Mallory Terry will be giving a poster presentation at the European Conference on Visual Perception,  which will be held in Aberdeen, Scotland  this August 25-29.
  • PhD students Mallory Terry and  Rachel Eng  did poster presentations at the the annual meeting of the Vision Sciences Society in May 17-22 in St. Pete’s Florida.
  • PhD student Jessica Kespe submitted a journal article  based on her driving simulation research.
  • Brooke Pardy  has been hired as Research Coordinator at Sunnyside Hospital in Toronto. Way to go Brooke! 
  • Martin Geraets-Rose  has been hired as a Psychometrist in Ottawa. Congratulations on your new job Martin!

Pictured above are recent PhD graduate Heather Walker from Lana Trick’s lab and Masters of Applied Science graduate in Engineering Brooklin Caren, from Michele Oliver’s lab.

Student Research

Are you interested in joining our lab? There are different ways to join depending on whether you are from Psychology/Neuroscience, Engineering, or Computer Science. For more information click here: Student opportunities.

Collaborate With Us

DRiVE Lab researchers are always interested in working with industry, government, and other research labs. If you are interested in collaborating with us on driving research, please contact moliver@uoguelph.ca, andrew.hamilton-wright@uoguelph.ca, or ltrick@uoguelph.ca.

>To find out more about the features of the DRiVE lab click on this link (Features).

>To find out more about how to contact us click this link (Contact).

>To find out more about the publications and presentations from the DRiVE lab click on these links (Journals, Refereed conference proceedings) and also note the books and conference tabs under the publications tab on the blue bar above).

Pictured above are graduate students Erika Ziraldo, Heather Walker, and Brooklin Caren at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals held in Sudbury (second, third, and fourth from the left).