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Carnegie Mellon Driving Research Center, together with ISIM, is presently involved in the design and development of an Advanced Human Factors Research and Driving Training Research Facility. The facility has been designed to address human factors issues and driver training issues. Human factors interests include developing countermeasures for fatigue and driver/vehicle interface issues. Driver training issues include validating the usefulness of simulators for driver training, developing effective curricula and investigating simulator fidelity needed for effective training. A key component of the facility is the Carnegie Mellon TruckSim that will be capable of simulating a variety of commercial and emergency vehicles using interchangeable cabs mounted to a common motion platform. TruckSim's modular configuration will allow for rapid and cost effective design of experiments and training scenarios. A first research program to evaluate fatigue countermeasures is presented as an example.

Flight operations can involve rapid multiple time changes and long, irregular work schedules. These factors can result in sleep loss, circadian disruption, and fatigue with subsequent effects on flightdeck performance. Countermeasures to reduce or mitigate the effects of these factors can be divided into two approaches: preventive strategies and operational countermeasures. Preventive strategies are used prior to a duty period to reduce or mitigate the fatigue created by flight and duty schedules. Operational countermeasures are used during flight operations to maintain performance and alertness. Naps can be used as both a preventive strategy and an operational countermeasure. Strategic napping in two different flight operation environments will be used to illustrate its application as a fatigue countermeasure. A recent NASA/FAA study examining the effectiveness of a preplanned cockpit nap to acutely improve alertness and performance on the flightdeck will be described.