Development of an Open-Source Tractor Driving Simulator for Tractor Stability Tests

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brennan S ; Garvey PM ; Klena JM ; Murphy, Denise C. ; Ochoa Lleras N ; Sommer HJ III
• Description:
  Developing devices for stability monitoring and rollover alerts is a promising possibility to prevent overturn events, which pose a severe risk to tractor operators. However, performing relevant tests with operators in the field is dangerous and impractical. As an alternative, this work identifies the challenges of simulating a tractor driving environment in a laboratory and details the solutions put in place to develop a tractor driving simulator at Penn State University. The simulator includes an instrumented tractor cab mounted on a custom motion base, a 2.43 m tall, 360 degrees high-definition screen, a sound system, and a nine-computer network running open-source software that can be used to conduct experiments and simulate driving scenarios relevant to tractor instabilities. The system is used for an experiment that evaluates the driver's ability to perceive tilt angles at various tilt and roll combinations. Pilot-test results show that roll and pitch are systematically overestimated, producing perceptual errors that are unbiased, independent for roll and pitch, and typically have magnitudes of 4 degrees. These results can aid the development of instability monitoring systems by considering human tilt perception to set alert thresholds. Future projects and applications of the tractor driving simulator are also discussed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Automobiles Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Machinery Agricultural Safety Author Keywords: Risk Assessment Machine Operation Machine Safety Monitoring Systems Rollover Protective Structure Rollover Protective Structures ROPS Simulation Simulation Methods Stability Tractors Vehicle Safety

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• ISSN:
  1074-7583
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  227-246
• Volume:
  22
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053079
• Citation:
  J Agric Saf Health 2016 Oct; 22(4):227-246
• Contact Point Address:
  Sean Brennan, 157 Hammond, University Park, PA 16802
• Email:
  sbrennan@psu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, Cooperstown, New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20270831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c94b59a4f94de71358edebc575e90d3cd1d5697c58d4bfdc52cda2c2eae4f5d73b113b0341ff1d19b4b506649eb7ae9b8deab9b458495dd0bfa5f3f07cb13876
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215923/cdc_215923_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.31 MB ]