Published : 11 Nov 2026, 07:12 PM
Updated : 11 Nov 2026, 07:11 PM
The vehicular mayhem of Grand Theft Auto is being harnessed by international researchers to make real-world roads safer.
The famous video game series is best known for high-speed police pursuits, spins, and crashes. Players can even careen through crowded streets without following any traffic rules.
However, scientists are now turning this virtual chaos into a tool for saving lives, the BBC reports.
Modern games feature highly realistic physics, varied weather conditions, and dense traffic networks. These graphics provide a ready-made test environment that rivals multi-million-pound professional driving simulators at a fraction of the cost.
Engineering teams at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences in Germany modified Grand Theft Auto V to test new safety wearables for cyclists.
One experimental device attaches to bike handlebars and vibrates as vehicles approach from behind. Another prototype is a vibrating vest designed to give wearers a "sixth sense" for approaching traffic.
Testing these devices on real roads is dangerous for human volunteers. By using the game, researchers sent volunteers down virtual streets filled with heavy lorries without any physical risk.
Researchers are also studying human behaviour to help design safer road layouts.
Biomechanical engineers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands linked eye-tracking technology to the game.
They tracked exactly where cyclists looked when facing hazards, such as opening car doors or busy junctions, according to the BBC.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence developers are using the game to train self-driving cars.
Engineers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology created a massive dataset of in-game accidents.
They used this data to teach autonomous vehicles how to identify and avoid dangerous drivers.
Researchers at Eastern Michigan University went a step further by testing ethical decision-making algorithms in alarming crash scenarios.
Their tests showed that ethical programming could reduce potential loss of life by roughly 24 percent.
With Grand Theft Auto VI set for release soon, academics are eager to use its updated virtual world for future safety experiments.
