Ford VIRTTEX Driving Simulator to Help Keep Drivers in Control

    DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 21 Ford Motor Company's
advanced, moving-base driving simulator is now busily gathering information to
help address one of the most talked about issues today -- the use of cell
phones and other electronic devices in cars and trucks.

    The new VIRTTEX simulator -- for VIRtual Test Track EXperiment -- is one
of the most advanced laboratories of its kind in the world.  Using the
controlled laboratory setting, Ford Motor Company engineers are studying
everyday driving tasks, such as changing the radio or inserting an audio CD,
and how they affect driver performance during a variety of simulated driving
experiences.

    The goal is to ensure that all new technologies on Ford Motor Company
vehicles are developed with safety as the first priority.

    While seated in the 24-foot domed laboratory, drivers are asked to perform
such tasks as retrieving voice mail, accessing an electronic address book,
making a phone call or settling a fictional business matter.  Throughout the
experiment, virtual traffic is competing for the driver's attention.  For
example, the laboratory can simulate the "car" in front with flashing brake
lights or the vehicle behind suddenly surging forward.

    The VIRTTEX lab sits atop six angled hydraulic pistons.  At rest, it sits
11 feet off the floor.  In operation, the dome is raised and can move up to 10
feet to any side and tilt up to 20 degrees.  This broad range of motion helps
duplicate forces that are experienced while driving.

    A Ford Taurus is bolted inside the dome and serves as the first test bed
for the driver distraction study.  Study participants sit in the driver's seat
while a series of color projectors create an illusion of roads and terrain
around the vehicle.

    Because the tasks and the environment can be repeated indefinitely -- as
opposed to the real world -- data obtained from VIRTTEX can be used as a basis
for scientific conclusions.  These conclusions will be shared throughout the
industry as early as this fall.