The National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) at The University of Iowa is the world's most advanced ground vehicle simulator. Developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) it consists of a six-degree of freedom hexapod containing a full size vehicle cab inside. The hexapod is attached to a motorized turntable that moves in real time within a basketball court sized room to accurately simulate the driving experience. Driven by $80 million worth of software and sophisticated hydraulics, if participants execute an evasive maneuver, they feel the side-to-side movement like a real car: if they run off the road into the gravel, they feel the vibration from the simulated road.

UCD performed a system safety analysis and assisted in designing the system monitoring and emergency control panel.