R. Wade Allen

Technical Director

B.S. in Engineering, University of California at Los Angeles, 1962

M.S. in Engineering, University of California at Los Angeles, 1965

Mr. R. Wade Allen has specialized in human machine system R&D and vehicle dynamics of ground vehicle and aeronautical systems.  He has formal training in engineering mathematics, probability and statistics, dynamic systems analysis and human factors.  Mr. Allen started his career in the Biotechnology Laboratory at UCLA under Dr. John Lyman, and went on to work at Hughes Aircraft Company in the Display Systems Department under Dr. Stan Roscoe.

In 1967 Mr. Allen joined Systems Technology, Inc. and continued his work on human/machine systems research including driver behavior under various impairment and visibility conditions, pilot behavior with various types of vehicle dynamics and weather conditions.  He has studied driver/vehicle behavior under limit performance maneuvering conditions that lead to spin outs and rollovers, and the effects of various impairments including alcohol, marijuana, fatigue and reduced visibility.  As a compliment to this research Mr. Allen has been involved in the development of a range of driving simulators and methods and procedures for conducting simulator research including driving scenarios and behavioral and performance measurement.  Mr. Allen also led a team that wrote the original specification for the National Advanced Driving Simulator.  Mr. Allen is currently the Principal Investigator for an Army TACOM project to develop motion cueing algorithms for hexapod type motion systems.

Mr. Allen is a Fellow of the Institute for the Advancement of Engineering and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.  He was awarded the HF&ES A. R. Lauer Traffic Safety Award for 1989.  He is a Past Directory Editor, HF&ES.  Mr. Allen is also a member of the IEEE, SAE and AIAA.  He received the SAE Arch T. Colewell Merit Award for an SAE paper in 1991 and an SAE outstanding paper presentation award in 1992.  Mr. Allen is a Past Chairman of the Transportation Research Board committee A3B06 (Simulation and Measurement of Vehicle and Operator Performance).  He is also a Registered Professional Engineer, State of California, Control Systems Branch.

Selected Bibliography

R. W. Allen, Park, G.D. and Cook, M.L. (2010), “Simulator Fidelity and Validity in a Transfer of Training Context,” Transportation Research Record (In Press), Transportation Research Board, National Academies, Washington, DC (TRB Paper 10-3488, STI P-732) .

R.W. Allen, Rosenthal, T.J., et al. “A Short History of Driving Simulation,” Chap. 2 Fisher, D. L., M. Rizzo, J. K. Caird, and J. D.Lee. (in press). Handbook of Driving Simulation for Engineering, Medicine, and Psychology. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

R. W. Allen, G. D. Park, T. J. Rosenthal, M. L. Cook, and D. D. Fiorentino, “Simulator Assessment of Older Driver Proficiency,” presented at TRB 86th Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 21-25, 2007. (TRB 07-3142)

R. W. Allen, G. D. Park, D. D. Fiorentino, T. J. Rosenthal, and M. L. Cook, “Analysis of Simulator Sickness as a Function of Age and Gender,” presented at Driving Simulation Conference Europe, Paris, October 4-6, 2006.

T. D. Marcotte, Ph.D., T. J. Rosenthal, J. Corey-Bloom, E. Roberts, S. Lampinen, and R. W. Allen, “The Contribution of Cognition and Spasticity to Driving Performance in Multiple Sclerosis,” Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2005.

R. W. Allen, T. J. Rosenthal, and B. L. Aponso, “Performance measurement paradigms for driving simulator research,” Advances in Transportation Studies An International Journal, vol. Special Issue,no., pp. 45-58, 2005.

 

J. G. Howe, D. Lee, Ph.D., J. P. Chrstos, Ph.D., T. T. Myers, R. W. Allen, D. J. Gorsich, and A. Reid, “Analysis of Potential Road/Terrain Characterization Rating Metrics,” SAE Transactions: Journal of Commercial Vehicles, vol. 113,no. 2, 2004. (SAE 2004-01-2640)

T.J. Rosenthal, R. W. Allen, et al., “A Driving Simulator for Testing the Visibility and Conspicuity of Highway Designs and Traffic Control Device Placement,” Proceedings of the 16th Biennial Symposium on Visibility and Simulation,Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC 2002 (STI P-618A)

R. W. Allen, J. P. Chrstos, Ph.D., B. L. Aponso, and D. Lee, Ph.D., “Driver/Vehicle Modeling and Simulation,” presented at SAE Automotive Dynamics and Stability Conference, Detroit, MI, May 7-9 2002. (SAE 2002-01-1568)

R. W. Allen, J. P. Chrstos, Ph.D., J. G. Howe, and D. H. Klyde, “Validation of a Non-Linear Vehicle Dynamics Simulation for Limit Handling,” Journal of Automobile Engineering Special Issue Paper, Proc. Instn Mech Engrs, vol. 216,no., pp. 319-327, 2001.

R. W. Allen, T. J. Rosenthal, D. H. Klyde, and J. R. Hogue, “Computer Simulation Analysis of Light Vehicle Lateral/Directional Dynamic Stability,” presented at 1999 SAE international Congress & Exposition, Cobo Center, Detroit, MI, March 1-4 1999. (SAE 1999-01-0124, STI-P-552)

J. R. Hogue and R. W. Allen, “Virtual Reality Simulation in Parachute Flight Training,” presented at 14th Aerodynamic Decelerator System Technology Conference, San Francisco, CA, June 2-5, 1997. (AIAA 97-1454, STI-P-530)

R. W. Allen, T. J. Rosenthal, and J. P. Chrstos, Ph.D., “A Vehicle Dynamics Tire Model for Both Pavement and Off-Road Conditions,” presented at SAE International Congress & Exposition, Detroit, MI, February 24-27, 1997. (SAE 970559, STI-P-532)

R. W. Allen, T. J. Rosenthal, B. L. Aponso, D. H. Klyde, F. G. Anderson, and J. P. Chrstos, Ph.D., “A Low Cost PC Based Driving Simulator for Prototyping and Hardware-In-The-Loop Applications,” presented at SAE International Congress & Exposition, Cobo Center, Detroit, MI, February 23-26, 1997. (SAE 980222, STI-P-541)

R. W. Allen, C. Serafin, R. E. Magdaleno, S. Eckert, and T. Sieja, “Driver Car Following Behavior Under Test Track and Open Road Driving Conditions,” presented at International Congress & Exposition, Detroit, MI, August 1996. (SAE 970170, STI-P-527)

R. W. Allen, T. J. Rosenthal, and J. R. Hogue, “Modeling and Simulation of Driver/Vehicle Interaction,” presented at 1996 SAE International Congress & Exposition, Detroit, MI, February 26-29, 1996. (SAE 960177, STI-P-521)

R. W. Allen, Z. Parseghian, and A. C. Stein, “A Driving Simulator Study of the Performance Effects of Low Blood Alcohol Concentration,” presented at Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 40th Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, May 1996. (STI-P-525)

R. W. Allen, T. J. Rosenthal, and D. H. Klyde, “Application of Vehicle Dynamic Modeling to Interactive Highway Safety Design,” presented at TRB 74th Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 22-28, 1995. (STI-P-516)

R. W. Allen, R. E. Magdaleno, T. J. Rosenthal, D. H. Klyde, and J. R. Hogue, “Tire Modeling Requirements for Vehicle Dynamics Simulation,” presented at International Congress & Exposition, Detroit, MI, February 27 - March 2 1995. (SAE 950312, STI-P-514)

R. W. Allen and T. J. Rosenthal, “Requirements for Vehicle Dynamics Simulation Models,” presented at SAE International Congress & Exposition, Detroit, MI, Feb. 28 - Mar 3, 1994. (SAE 940175, STI-P-501)

R. W. Allen, Z. Parseghian, and T. J. Rosenthal, “Simulator Evaluation of Road Signs and Signals,” presented at 38th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Nashville, TN, October 24-28, 1994. (STI-P-507)

R. W. Allen, “The Driver’s Role in Collision Avoidance Systems,” presented at Workshop on Collision Avoidance Systems sponsored by the IVHS America Safety & Human Factors Committee and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Reston, VA, March 21-22 1994. (STI-P-502)

R. W. Allen and T. J. Rosenthal, “A Computer Simulation Analysis of Safety Critical Maneuvers for Assessing Ground Vehicle Dynamic Stability,” presented at 1993 SAE International Congress & Exposition, Detroit, MI, March 1-5 1993. (SAE 930760, STI-P-487)

R. W. Allen, M. Silverman, and M. Itkonen, “Real World Experience In Fitness-For-Duty Testing,” presented at Aerotech ‘92, Anaheim, CA, October 5-8, 1992. (SAE 921908, STI-P-483)

R. W. Allen, T. J. Rosenthal, D. H. Klyde, K. J. Owens, and H. T. Szostak, “Validation of Ground Vehicle Computer Simulations Developed for Dynamics Stability Analysis,” presented at SAE International Congress & Exposition, Detroit, MI, February 24-28, 1992. (SAE 920054, STI-P-474)

R. W. Allen, D. Ziedman, T. J. Rosenthal, A. C. Stein, J. F. Torres, and A. Halati, “A Human Factors Simulation Investigation of Driver Route Diversion and Alternate Route Selection Using In-Vehicle Navigation Systems,” presented at SAE Vehicle Navigation and Information Systems, Dearborn, MI, October 20-23, 1991. (SAE 912731, STI-P-471)

R. W. Allen, H. T. Szostak, T. J. Rosenthal, D. H. Klyde, and K. J. Owens, “Characteristics Influencing Ground Vehicle Lateral/Directional Dynamic Stability,” presented at SAE International Congress & Exposition, Detroit, MI, February 25-March 1, 1991. (SAE 910234, STI-P-462)

R. W. Allen, A. C. Stein, J. R. Hogue, D. G. Mitchell, and K. J. Owens, “National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) Requirement Study,” Systems Technology, Inc., Hawthorne, CA, Technical Report, DOT-HS-807-827, STI-TR-1256-02, July 1991.

R. W. Allen, D. G. Mitchell, A. C. Stein, and J. R. Hogue, “Validation of Real-Time Man-in-the Loop Simulation,” presented at Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) and Traffic Safety on Two Continents, Gothenburg, Sweden, September 21-24, 1991. (STI-P-470)

R. W. Allen, H. T. Szostak, T. J. Rosenthal, and D. H. Klyde, “Field Testing and Computer Simulation Analysis of Ground Vehicle Dynamic Stability,” presented at SAE Annual Congress & Exposition, Long Beach, CA, February 26—March 2 1990. (SAE 900127, STI-P-441)

R. W. Allen, A. C. Stein, and J. C. Miller, “Performance Testing as a Determinant of Fitness-for-Duty,” presented at SAE Aerospace Technology Conference & Exposition, Long Beach, CA, October 1-4, 1990. (SAE 901870, STI-P-457)

R. W. Allen, H. T. Szostak, T. J. Rosenthal, and D. H. Klyde, “Steady State and Dynamic Properties of All Terrain Vehicles Related to Lateral/Directional Handling and Stability,” presented at SAE Government & Industry Meeting, Washington, D.C., May 2-4 1989. (SAE 891105, STI-P-435)

R. W. Allen, T. J. Rosenthal, D. H. Klyde, and H. T. Szostak, “Transient Analysis of All Terrain Vehicle Lateral/Directional Handling and Stability,” presented at SAE Government & Industry Meeting, Washington, D.C., May 2-4, 1989. (SAE 891109, STI-P-437)

R. W. Allen, D. T. McRuer, and P. M. Thompson, Ph.D., “Dynamic Systems Analysis Programs with Classical and Optimal Control Applications of Human Performance Models,” in Applications of Human Performance Models to System Design, Grant McMillan, David Beevis, and E. Salas, Eds.: Plenum Press, NY, , 1989, pp. 169-184. (STI-P-421)

E. S. Krendel, R. W. Allen, D. T. McRuer, and Z. Parseghian, “Pilot Decision Making during Low Altitude Windshear Encounters,” presented at AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 1988. (AIAA 88-4187, STI-P-425)

C. Stein, Z. Parseghian, and R. W. Allen, “A Simulator Study of the Safety Implications of Cellular Mobile Phone Use,” presented at Proc. of the 31st Conference of the American Association for Automotive Medicine (AAAM), New Orleans, LA, Sept. 28-30, 1987. (STI-P-405)

R. W. Allen, H. T. Szostak, and T. J. Rosenthal, “Analysis and Computer Simulation of Driver/Vehicle Interaction,” presented at 1987 SAE Goverment/Industry Meeting and Exposition, Washington, D.C., May 18-21, 1987. (SAE 871086, STI-P-406)

R. W. Allen, T. J. Rosenthal, and H. T. Szostak, “Steady State and Transient Analysis of Ground Vehicle Handling,” presented at 1987 SAE International Congress & Exposition, Detroit, MI, February 23-27 1987. (SAE 870495, STI-P-400) A. C. Stein and R. W. Allen, “The Effects of Alcohol on Driver Decision Making and Risk Taking,” presented at Proc. of the 30th Conference of the American Association for Automotive Medicine (AAAM), Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Oct. 6-8, 1986. (STI-P-389)

R. W. Allen, “Research Methodology for Crash Avoidance Studies,” Transportation Research Record no. 1059, pp. 1-5, 1986. (STI-P-379)

R. W. Allen, “Stability and Performance Analysis of Automobile Driver Steering Control,” presented at 1982 SAE International Annual Congress & Exposition, Cobo Hall, Detroit, MI, February 22-26, 1982. (SAE 820303, STI-P-310)

W. A. Johnson, T. T. Myers, R. J. DiMarco, and R. W. Allen, “A Downhill Grade Severity Rating System,” presented at SAE Truck Meeting & Exposition, Hyatt Regency, Dearborn, MI, Nov. 9-12 1981. (SAE 811263, STI-P-292)

R. W. Allen, A. C. Stein, and S. H. Schwartz, “Driver Decision Making Analysis,” presented at IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Decision and Control Conference, September 1981. (SMC-79-5-1337, STI-P-301)

R. W. Allen and H. R. Jex, “Driving Simulation—Requirements, Mechanization and Application,” SAE Transactions, vol. 89, pp. 1769-1780, 1981. (SAE 800448, STI-P-256)

R. W. Allen and J. F. O’Hanlon, “Effects of Roadway Delineation and Visibility Conditions on Driver Steering Performance,” Driver Performance, Passenger Safety Devices, and the Bicyclist,no. Transportation Research Record 739, pp. 5-8, 1979. (STI-P-229R)

R. W. Allen and D. T. McRuer, “The Man/Machine Control Interface—Pursuit Control,” Automatica, vol. 15, pp. 683-686, 1979.

D. T. McRuer, R. W. Allen, D. H. Weir, and R. H. Klein, “New Results in Driver Steering Control Models,” Human Factors, vol. 19,no. 4, pp. 381-397, 1977.

R. W. Allen and D. T. McRuer, “The Effect of Adverse Visibility on Driver Steering Performance in an Automobile Simulator,” presented at 1977 SAE International Automobile Engineering Congress & Exposition, Detroit, MI, Feb. 28-Mar. 4, 1977. (SAE 770239, STI-P-191)

D. T. McRuer, D. H. Weir, H. R. Jex, R. E. Magdaleno, and R. W. Allen, “Measurement of Driver-Vehicle Multiloop Response Properties with a Single Disturbance Input,” IEEE Transactions on System, Man, and Cybernetics, vol. SMC-5, no. 5, pp. 490-497, 1975. (STI-P-139)

R. W. Allen, H. R. Jex, D. T. McRuer, and R. J. DiMarco, “Alcohol Effects on Driving Behavior and Performance in a Car Simulator,” IEEE Transactions on System, Man, and Cybernetics, vol. SMC-5,no. 5, pp. 498-505, 1975. (STI-P-150)

R. W. Allen and H. R. Jex, “A Simple Fourier Analysis Technique for Measuring the Dynamic Response of Manual Control Systems,” IEEE Transactions on System, Man, and Cybernetics, vol. SMC-2,no. 5, pp. 638-643, 1972. (STI-P-092)