Project Snapshot
- The Genesis Simulator replicates any road environment and condition using dynamic motion, 360° projection, and interchangeable vehicle cabins for both light and heavy vehicles.
- New high-fidelity digital models, created from real-world terrain scans using drone-based lidar and photogrammetry, enable targeted testing of specific locations and scenarios.
- Genesis supports research into driver behaviour, vehicle performance, and trusted autonomy, delivering valuable insights for the transport sector and industry partners.
- These environments support repeatable simulator studies by allowing researchers to reproduce real-world road layouts, terrain and visual conditions inside Genesis.
The Deakin Institute for Intelligent Systems’ Genesis Simulator is one of Australia’s most advanced motion simulators and provides a unique opportunity to simulate any road environment under any condition.
Genesis features a dynamic motion platform which moves about within a 4m x 4m envelope surrounded by a 360-degree and five-metre-high projection environment. The Institute has two cabins – a 4WD vehicle cabin and a replica heavy vehicle cabin – that are compatible with the Genesis Simulator’s Ansible Motion system, and incorporates pitch, heave and yaw into simulations to give drivers and passengers a truly immersive experience.
Genesis Simulator offers substantial advantages for both the transportation sector and industry partners in the domains of health and road safety.
It not only enhances knowledge about road usage, vehicle performance, and transport safety but also facilitates the development of datasets pertaining to driver performance. Furthermore, it is proving to be an unparalleled tool in uncovering novel data regarding trusted autonomy in challenging environments.
Experience anywhere any time
The simulator’s hardware is managed by a variety of digital vehicle models, allowing users to adapt the simulator for light and heavy vehicle applications and adjust the vehicle’s characteristics to suit defined requirements.
Users can enable a variety of simulated environments such as weather conditions, traffic and other vehicles with the ability to change from one setting to the next with a click of a button.
In 2024, the Institute research team, led by Associate Professor Michael Johnstone, for the first time developed new, drivable high-fidelity digital models of local environments for the simulator.
Using a drone, the research team captured lidar and photogrammetry data of different landscapes on the Deakin Waurn Ponds campus to create the digital models.
This has unlocked further research capability for the Genesis Simulator and will give researchers the ability to use targeted environments for testing, for example testing the safety of a specific intersection of road, or the driver behaviour in specific environments.
This capability helps further develop research around trusted autonomy in unstructured terrains.
The environments developed through Genesis also support research into driver behaviour, human performance, safety, training and human–machine interaction under controlled simulated conditions.
Genesis: Building Trust in Autonomous Systems
How do we measure and optimise trust in autonomous systems to make them safer and more intuitive? Graduate researcher Nicole Toomey is exploring how trust in autonomous systems impacts high-risk environments like healthcare and autonomous vehicles. Using the Genesis Simulator, Nicole is uncovering how trust influences driver behaviour and system performance.
