AnPeB

The Centro de Computação Gráfica (CCG) and the University of Minho organized a Think Tank and Networking session, dedicated to the use of simulators in transport research and road safety, on June 26, at its facilities.

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This session brought together 50 representatives from a variety of institutions, from public bodies to private companies, from municipalities to companies in the automotive, infrastructure and systems industries.

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In the morning, presentations took place with a focus on practical cases of use of simulators in the road domain.

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Elisabete Freitas, a professor at the University of Minho and coordinator of the AnPeB project, spoke about the need to improve the safety and protection of pedestrians on the roads, and how the AnPeB project aims to contribute to that improvement.

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With a pedestrian’s safety simulator, developed by the AnPeB project and presented at this event, it is possible to study the behavior of pedestrians without compromising the safety of the participants. Another advantage of using virtual environments is greater control over experimental conditions and tasks.

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In the afternoon there were visits to the autonomous driving and pedestrian’s safety simulators installed in the CCG (Bosch Room and CAVE), providing various moments of interaction to the participants of the event.

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Afterwards, a very detailed debate was held regarding the role that simulators can play on the scope of road management. Emanuel Sousa, a researcher at the CCG, led the debate with researchers and professors Nelson Costa and Elisabete Freitas of the University of Minho and with all those present in the auditorium who wanted to give their opinion and ask these experts their questions. The advantages and limitations of using simulators, confidence/distrust in autonomous driving, and how simulators can help dispel such mistrust were also discussed.

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To close the event, a networking session was held, promoting contact between all the participants.