Westport 3D simulator to be used for Road Safety

Westport 3D simulator to be used for Road Safety


Rowan Gallagher

AN interactive 3D driving simulator for Westport town has been created to try and educate the public about road safety.
Rather than actually driving around Westport people will now be able to experience the highs and lows of avoiding cyclists and pedestrians on the highways and byways of Westport’s streets on their computer.
The new software, VR Drive, allows trainee drivers to experience driving the streets of Westport from the comfort of their living room where they are tasked with driving safely and avoiding any possible dangers on the road.
The software may not look as polished as commercial driving simulators that are on the video game market, but rather than rewarding drivers for reckless activities this software has safe driving in mind.
Fortunately for the virtual Westport residents there will be no drive by shooting or escaping from police in this Grand Theft Auto-esque safe driving software.
Akin to the Google Street View depiction of Westport, an instructional video of the software in action shows Westport as a living town with people cycling, walking and driving around the town.
Youth organisations and schools will be able to obtain a licence for the new software for €350 while the same package costs €6,500 for commercial use.
The software has been developed by a Japanese software company and it is hoped that it will help save lives on Irish roads.
Noel Gibbons, Road Safety Officer, Mayo County Council has welcomed the launch of the new software.
“This Software is a pro-active approach to injury and crash reduction through improved driver education,” Mr Gibbons said.
The software gives out a driving skills report after finishing a session showing how the trainee got on as well as the level of their Carbon footprint.
Visual effects such as driving in rain, snow and at different times of day can be experienced – other environmental effects include wind, flooding, fire and smoke can also be incorporated
In addition to the VR-Drive software all that one needs is a Logitech Games Steering System and a Windows based PC or Laptop with an appropriate graphics card.
Brendan Hafferty, who made the model of the town a number of years ago, told The Mayo News that the project was exciting and that their was a great future for this type of application of 3D modeling.