Purchase of new driving simulator software (and associated hardware)

Tender description

Purchase new driving simulator software (and associated hardware) for use in updating and extending our existing Faculty of Engineering driving simulator facility. The enhanced simulator will primarily be used in funded research projects and will be paid for by our current iUK project ServCity (RC45RH) - however, the simulator will used for PhD and student project/teaching activities and University/Faculty open days. This supplier also develops this software, so it is only available from them. We need to purchase this specific software for five key reasons: 1) we will need to use this software this year in an existing project (TAS Hub) in collaboration with a team at University of Southampton who have the exact same software developed by this company - and we will need directly comparable data to provide the reliability in the research; 2) moreover, it is the only Human Factors software currently available for use with the UK driving situation (on left side of road, specific road signs etc.) that also offers the full range of future automation features needed for our planned research; 3) it is now the standard for Human Factors research driving simulator software in the UK offering a comprehensive database of UK driving scenarios for studies; 4) the majority of other Universities/ Research institutes in the UK who conduct research in this area now use this same software, including Universities we are likely to collaborate with in future projects - such as Loughborough University, Warwick University and TRL; 5) our industrial partners/funders are very keen for us to use this software, as they are fully aware of its capabilities in this form of research.