Research LaboratoriesLaboratory for Road Safety and Accident Investigation – LaSIS

Laboratory for Road Safety and Accident Investigation – LaSIS

The LaSIS (www.lasis.unifi.it) is an interdepartmental laboratory dedicated to education and research in the field of road safety and accident investigation. It brings together the activities carried out by the research groups belonging to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICeA) and the Department of Industrial Engineering (DIEF) of the University of Florence. LaSIS aims to serve as a reference point for public bodies and companies that, at the territorial level, are called upon to manage and address the important social issue of road safety from multiple perspectives. Through its multifunctional structure, the laboratory promotes the direct application of scientific research to concrete problems, allowing institutions and companies not only to find effective solutions but also to become active partners in proposing new research topics and benefiting from services aimed at:

• fostering the reduction of road accidents and their consequences;
• advancing research on vehicle safety, infrastructure, and road network issues, as well as on the interaction between vehicles, humans, and roads;
• supporting professional training;
• promoting education and prevention initiatives;
• developing innovative and reproducible tools, potentially leading to patents and spin-offs;

The laboratory integrates numerical facilities and experimental equipment previously available within the research groups of DICeA and DIEF. The full-scale crash test facility, which operated from 2002 to 2020 at the Sesto Fiorentino campus, enabled the execution of numerous crash tests on two- and four-wheeled vehicles and the study of vehicle–pedestrian interactions. These experimental activities were conducted both for research purposes—supporting the development of original models, internationally recognized, for accident reconstruction and software, —and for educational purposes within postgraduate courses and second-level master’s programmes offered by the University of Florence. At present, LaSIS is equipped with a virtual reality driving simulator, one of the most advanced dynamic simulators in Italy. It features a full-scale vehicle (Lancia Ypsilon) mounted on a Stewart platform with six degrees of freedom, capable of reproducing yaw, roll, and pitch movements, and a circular screen covering 220° (technical specifications).This simulator allows, with high versatility, the testing of geometric configurations of any type in interactive environments under predetermined traffic and environmental conditions, through standardized, controlled, and fully repeatable experimental procedures. It is also used to conduct behavioural research and studies aimed at optimizing the road–vehicle system.