Facilities Research / Facilities Facilities — from software to real-world INSPIRE Lab operates a research pipeline that spans software simulation, human-in-the-loop testing, hardware-in-the-loop validation, and real-world experimentation supported by world-class computing and testing facilities at UT Austin. INSPIRE Lab Equipment — in-house testing capabilities Lab Equipment · 01 Driver Simulator Multi-screen immersive driving simulator for human-in-the-loop studies on driver behavior, AV-human interaction, and traffic scenarios. Lab Equipment · 02 Autonomous Vehicle Sensor-equipped autonomous research vehicle with LiDAR, cameras, GNSS, and IMU enabling real-world data collection and algorithm validation. Lab Equipment · 03 OPAL-RT Real-time hardware-in-the-loop simulator for power systems and EV-grid co-simulation, validating control strategies before field deployment. Key University Facilities — university shared resources accessibility University Facility · 01 TACC Texas Advanced Computing Center One of the most powerful academic supercomputing centers in the U.S., supporting large-scale optimization, AI training, and high-fidelity simulations for our research. Learn more → University Facility · 02 SMARTtract UT Smart Mobility Testing Facility Outdoor proving ground for autonomous and connected vehicle research, providing real-world test environments at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus. Learn more → Research Pipeline — from software to real-world Our facilities support a complete research pipeline: ideas progress from software simulation to human-in-the-loop testing, then to hardware-in-the-loop validation, and finally to real-world deployment with findings looping back to refine the models. Stage 01 Software CARLA & custom simulation environments → Stage 02 Human-in-the-Loop Driver Simulator → Stage 03 Hardware-in-the-Loop OPAL-RT → Stage 04 Real-World Autonomous Vehicle ↺ Findings from real-world experiments feed back to refine software models
