Ricerc@Sapienza

SIMU2DRIVE - BML Website:

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SIMU2DRIVE – Brain & Mobility Lab (BML) conducts advanced research on the neural, cognitive, and affective mechanisms that shape human behaviour in driving and emerging mobility systems. Leveraging high-resolution neurophysiological methods (EEG, autonomic signals, eye-tracking), immersive driving simulation, and multimodal data fusion, the lab investigates sensory–motor integration, attentional dynamics, cognitive and psychophysical impairments, and on a broader extent human–automation interaction across diverse driving scenarios and levels of automation.
By combining experimental neuroscience, neuroergonomics, and human-centered design, BML contributes to evidence-based models and technologies that are expected to enhance driving safety, user experience, and the adaptiveness of future mobility systems.

OUR STORY:

The Brain & Mobility Lab (BML) was established within the broader research group founded and coordinated by Prof. Fabio Babiloni at the Industrial Neuroscience Laboratories (link). Within this scientifically rich environment, Prof. Gianluca Di Flumeri began focusing on the neurophysiological assessment of Human Factors in relation to urban mobility and road safety. Over the years, he developed numerous national and international collaborations on these topics, contributing to major European research initiatives funded under the Horizon 2020 framework, such as the projects SIMUSAFE (Simulator of Behavioural aspects for safer transport)  and FITDRIVE (Monitoring devices for overall FITness of Drivers).

Building on the expertise gained across these multidisciplinary projects, spanning neurophysiological monitoring, behavioural modelling, and human–automation interaction, Prof. Di Flumeri progressively consolidated a distinctive research line integrating experimental neuroscience with mobility studies. In this way, in 2025 he secured a competitive grant from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) under the Italian Science Fund 2023 – Starting Grant programme. The funded project, SIMU2DRIVE (Psychophysiological modelling of user’s perception and experience in car simulators for their effective deployment in driving education and road safety programmes), officially launched on 3 October 2025, marking the formal establishment of the Brain & Mobility Lab (BML) as a dedicated research hub within the Department of Molecular Medicine of Sapienza University.

THE CONTEXT & OUR MISSION:

We are entering a transformative twenty-year window in which mobility systems will undergo profound and rapid evolution. The emergence of increasingly smart, connected, and automated vehicles is reshaping the in-vehicle experience, particularly that of the driver, while simultaneously increasing the overall complexity of urban mobility ecosystems. This unprecedented scenario challenges the validity of traditional behavioural models, which were developed for a context where driving was predominantly a manual, continuous-control activity. As automation progresses, the driver’s role is shifting from manual operator to supervisory cognitive agent, making experience, perception, attention, and preparedness central to safety and system reliability.

Understanding this transition requires a renewed and intensified research effort grounded in neuroscientific and human-factors methodologies. Investigating how neurocognitive states evolve in automated or partially automated driving is now essential to inform the design of safe, adaptive, and human-centered mobility systems capable of meeting the demands of the coming decades.