How to ensure that the training program gives drivers the skills they need to become safer, more confident and better prepared behind the wheel to face all kind of road dangers ?
The Bus driving simulator make achieving this objective possible while reducing the total training costs, as well as cutting expenditure on fuel/energy and vehicle repair.
Industry facts:
The first interactive bus driving simulator in the US was purchased by one of the major US agencies in the early 90's.
The system helped save thousands in training costs and by using their first bus driving simulator the operator was able to reduce the number of collisions by 43% over a 12 month period.
This saving paid for 3 additional bus driving simulators!
Bus Simulator benefits:
The main benefits and costs savings reported by the Transportation Agencies using Bus simulator are:
• A reduction of the number of accidents with direct and indirect benefits such as:
• Reduced legal action costs.
• Reduced vehicle repair costs.
• Less liability exposure leading to lower costs of insurance.
• Fuel/ energy savings.
• Reduction of maintenance costs, lower tyre wear.
• Reductionin per trainee training costs. OKTAL Bus Driving Simulator distinctive features:
Bus operations are very demanding in the field of simulation of the surrounding traffic because the driver is constantly exposed to perturbations originated by other vehicles or pedestrians.
To face this challenge, OKTAL's implemented for its Bus driving simulation products SCANeR™DT fully integrated proprietary software workshop, The world leader on the driving simulation R&D market.
The Bus simulator product range includes 3 hardware configurations: COMPACT, STANDARD and ADVANCED which all share the core features described below : Driving Simulator station:
• Representation of complex traffic situations with other traffic participants animated by a powerful engine using Artificial Intelligence technologies.
• Wide Visual System with full HD quality and front field of view with up to 5 visual channels covering over 200° horizontal FOV. On combination with side, and rear screens the display system can cover the entire field of view available to the driver in a real vehicle.
• A large virtual road network database tailored to the customers' country with over 60 miles of road drivable by the trainee in different environments: city downtown, suburbs, highway,mountain or test area...
• World class vehicle modelling software validated by the defence industry and used by prestigious car, bus and truck manufacturers for their R&D applications and new models testing campaigns.
• Very sensitive collision and bumps detection modulewith perfect rendering of simulated vehicle shape and volume to track not only accidents but possibly also 'near misses' with objects or pedestrians, stationary or in motion.
• Passengers service: boarding/unloading as well as inside of the vehicle withpassenger modelling immediately reacting to dangerous or abnormal braking, acceleration or bend taking that would lead to passenger injuries.
• Comprehensive sounds library with vehicle generated and environment sounds including doppler effect.
• Optional driver cabmotion platform or motion seatallow students to feel when they hit a curb,turn too fast or brake too hard.
Instructor's station:
• Large ready-to-use scenario library with various incidents involving:
• Traffic jams and obstructions including work zones.
• Several vehicle malfunctions, flat tyre.
• Driving in a garage.
• Possibility to simulate several bus types on the same bus simulator (simple and double-decker, articulated bus, standard and hybrid propulsion etc).
• Specific ECO-Driving module with possibility to compare trainee's performance to a "perfect run" and a Ghost feature for "showing" adequate bend taking.
• Graphical Instructor Interfaceallowing the control of several variables including time of the day, weather conditions, wind force etc.
• Simulation supervision screens reproducing the trainee's driving controls through a dash-board animated in real time, the vehicle positioning on a 2D 'map' a long with several views of the bus from different angles.
•Instructor controlled vehicle to interact with the trainee and introduceunlimited number of variations into pre-scripted scenarios.
• Capability to replay and review the simulated run
• Fully automatic assessment mixed with instructor commented infringements and possible addition of student and curriculum management application.
SCANeR™ Software 
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