Simulators for Transportation Human Factors

Book excerpt: Simulation continues to be a growth area in transportation human factors. From empirical studies in the laboratory to the latest training techniques in the field, simulators offer myriad benefits for the experimenter and the practitioner. This book draws together current trends in research and training simulators for the road, rail, air and sea sectors to inform the reader how to maximize both validity and cost-effectiveness in each case. Simulators for Transportation Human Factors provides a valuable resource for both researchers and practitioners in transportation human factors on the use of simulators, giving readers concrete examples and case studies of how simulators have been developed and used in empirical research as well as training applications. It offers useful and usable information on the functional requirements of simulators without the need for any background knowledge on the technical aspects, focusing on the state of the art of research and applications in transport simulators rather than the state of the art of simulation technology. The book covers simulators in operational terms instead of task simulation/modelling and provides a useful balance between a bottom-up, academic approach and a top-down, practical perspective.