Sweet!

I just got a call from the National Driving Simulator. I applied for a study a while back and have not heard from them and thought I did not get picked. Well I may be in. I go in for screening next Wed. and if I pass then I am in.
The study is on the effect of drinking and driving. There will be 3 sessions with various levels of alcohol ingested. You don't know how much you are drinking at the time, but you drink it and then go driving around in the simulator.
I did one other study and just loved it. It is THE most amazing simulator anywhere and it is just a blast to be a part of it.
Here is the kicker. They will pay me $250 to do it. Hell I would pay that just to drive the thing. How often do you get a chance to get paid to get drunk, play an multi million dollar video game, and then get a ride home?
Besides being really hard core geek-fun, it will also be very interesting to see the results too.
So hope that I get in!

The National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) is the most sophisticated research driving simulator in the world. Developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the NADS offers high-fidelity, real-time driving simulation. It consists of a large dome in which entire cars and the cabs of trucks and buses can be mounted. The vehicle cabs are equipped electronically and mechanically using instrumentation specific to their make and model.At the same time, the motion system, on which the dome is mounted, will provide 400 square meters of horizontal and longitudinal travel and nearly 360 degrees of rotation in either direction. The effect will be that the driver will feel acceleration, braking and steering cues as if he or she were actually driving a real car, truck or bus.


The latest in visual display technology and a high-fidelity audio system will complete the driving experience. The test subject will be immersed in sight, sound and movement so real that impending crash scenarios can be convincingly presented with no danger to the subject. Vehicle and driver data can be accurately gathered and stored and tests repeated with exactitude. TRW was awarded the construction contract after winning the design competition conducted by NHTSA. TRW assembled a world-class team that incorporated the latest in simulation technology in all aspects of the design for the $50 million project. The team included Dynamic Research, Inc., Evans & Sutherland, I*SIM and MTS Systems.