A simulator is a device that uses sounds and sights to make you feel that you are experiencing an actual situation. Some video games are good examples of low-end simulators. For example, you have probably seen or played race car arcade games. The booths containing these games have a steering wheel, stick shift, gas and brake pedals and a display monitor. As you drive, you hear the engine rumble, the brakes squeal and the metal crunch if you crash.
Some booths even move to create the sensation of motion in a turn.
The sights, sounds and feel of the game booth combine to create, or simulate, the experience of driving a car in a race. Because they can recreate experiences, simulators hold great potential for training people for almost any situation. Education researchers have, in fact, determined that people, especially adults, learn better by experience than through reading or lectures. Simulated experiences can be just as valuable a training tool as the real thing. Over the years, government and industry, working independently with new technologies and hardware, have developed a wide range of simulations and related applications.