Simulator Motion Cueing Research Articles

Effect of Motion Cues on Highway Driving Performance in Simulated Driving

The motion system is a major component of a driving simulator. It provides motion cues in various directions with different degrees of freedom (DOF). Different DOF could influence response variables widely used in highway design safety evaluation conducted in simulators. Few studies, though, have comprehensively explored the effect of driving simulator motion cues on driving performance. The high-fidelity Tongji University Driving Simulator (TUDS) was used to separately compare five dependent variables: speed, speed change, lane deviation, longitudinal acceleration, and lateral acceleration. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to examine the difference for each variable using 8-DOF and fixed-base motion system configurations for nine types of combined highway alignments. A subjective assessment of participants’ driving experience was conducted, and the chi-square test for each term was used to compare the difference in motion system fidelity and adverse reactions between the two configurations. Results show that: (1) speed and lateral acceleration are more likely to be significantly affected by motion cues than speed change, lane deviation, and longitudinal acceleration; (2) the horizontal curve with up-grade is the type of combined alignment where speed and lateral acceleration are mostly affected; (3) characteristics of the five variables in different combined alignments vary between the two simulators; (4) the 8-DOF motion system provides better perceived motion fidelity than the fixed-base system does, and the 8-DOF simulator causes less discomfort and tiredness in simulator sickness; and (5) the presence of motion cues is suggested for highways with complex combined curves when focusing on speed and lateral acceleration.

Design and evaluation of the objective motion cueing test and criterion

ABSTRACTSince the introduction of hexapod-type motion systems for flight simulation in the 1970s, Motion Drive Algorithm tuning has been primarily based on the subjective judgement of experienced pilots. This subjective method is often not transparent and often leads to ambiguous process of adjustment of the tuning parameters. Consequently, there are large variations in the motion cueing characteristics of flight training devices, a variability that subsequently raises questions regarding the value of motion cueing for pilot training itself. The third revision of ICAO 9625 Manual of Criteria for the Qualification of Flight Simulation Training Devices offered the opportunity to take a closer look at simulator motion cueing requirements in general. This led to the concept of the objective motion cueing test (OMCT), which was reported in 2006. After the method was evaluated on three research flight simulators, the results were published in 2007, demonstrating a larger spread in dynamic behaviour of cueing algorithms than expected. After discussions with the simulator industry regarding the form and methodology of the OMCT, an evaluation of the test in cooperation with the industry started in 2011. This led to the final form of the OMCT and cueing parameter criterion for the in-flight mode of transport aircraft. This paper describes the OMCT, the evaluation results and the criterion.

Optimal Motion Cueing for Race Cars

The application of optimal control to simulator motion cueing is examined. Existing motion cueing algorithms are hampered by the fact that they do not consider explicitly the optimal usage of simulator workspace. In this paper, numerical optimal control is used to minimize simulator platform acceleration errors, while explicitly recognizing the confines of the workspace. Actuator constraints are included and the impact of restricted actuator performance is thereby facilitated. The solution of open-loop optimal control calculations are also used as a baseline against which to compare the commonly employed linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) and model predictive control-based techniques. The limitations of these methods are identified and two additional modules are introduced to the LQG algorithm to improve its performance.

The MPI CyberMotion Simulator: A Novel Research Platform to Investigate Human Control Behavior

The MPI CyberMotion Simulator provides a unique motion platform, as it features an anthropomorphic robot with a large workspace, combined with an actuated cabin and a linear track for lateral movement. This paper introduces the simulator as a tool for studying human perception, and compares its characteristics to conventional Stewart platforms. Furthermore, an experimental evaluation is presented in which multimodal human control behavior is studied by identifying the visual and vestibular responses of participants in a roll-lateral helicopter hover task. The results show that the simulator motion allows participants to increase tracking performance by changing their control strategy, shifting from reliance on visual error perception to reliance on simulator motion cues. The MPI CyberMotion Simulator has proven to be a state-of-the-art motion simulator for psychophysical research to study humans with various experimental paradigms, ranging from passive perception experiments to active control tasks, such as driving a car or flying a helicopter.

Performance Identification and Compensation of Simulator Motion Cueing Delays

The lag existing between the command and the resulting cockpit motion in a motion-based simulator, commonly referred to as “transport delay”, is actually the sum of a fixed delay and a frequency-dependent phase delay. A measurement procedure for the identification of the overall transfer function of a motion system is first presented, then it is used to design a proportional integral derivative (PID) compensator to reduce the apparent simulator lag in usual driving maneuvers. This procedure is carried out on RENAULT’s ULTIMATE high-performance driving simulator. For the reference driving task considered (slalom driving), this PID corrector is shown to bring a 100–200 ms reduction of the phase delay, which is quite perceivable and preferred by test drivers.

6-DOF Motion System of Amphibious Vehicle Driving Simulator Motion Parameter Design Research

Vehicle driving simulators are widely employed in training and entertainment utilities because of its safe, economic and efficient. Amphibious vehicle driving simulator was used to simulate amphibious vehicle on land and in water. Because of the motion difference between aircraft and amphibious vehicle, it is necessary to design a reasonable 6-DOF motion system according to the flight simulator motion system standard and vehicle motion parameter. FFT of DSP and PSD were used to analysis the relationship between them. Finally according to the result analysis, a set of reasonable 6-DOF motion system motion parameter was given to realize the driving simulator motion cueing used to reproduce vehicle acceleration.

Multimodal Pilot Control Behavior in Combined Target-Following Disturbance-Rejection Tasks

Investigating how humans use their perceptual modalities while controlling a vehicle is important for the design of new control systems and the optimization of simulator motion cueing. For the identification of separate pilot response functions to the different perceived cues, multiple forcing functions need to be inserted into the manual control loop. An example of a task with multiple forcing functions is a combined target-following disturbance-rejection task, where a target and disturbance signal are used to separate the human visual and vestibular motion responses. The use of multiple forcing functions, however, also affects the nature of the control task and how the motion cues are used by the pilot to form a proper control action. This paper presents the results of an experiment where possible effects of using multiple forcing functions on pilot control behavior in an aircraft pitch control task are investigated. The results indicate that pilot performance and control activity are significantly lower when the relative power of the target forcing function is increased. This is caused by a significant change in multimodal pilot control behavior. With an increase in relative target power, the visual-perception gain is reduced and the visual time delay becomes higher. The motion-perception gain reduces if both forcing functions have significant power. It is also found that multimodal pilot control behavior in a pure target or disturbance task can be analyzed by adding a small additional disturbance or target signal, respectively. In this case, the effects on control behavior are found to be minimal, while still being able to accurately estimate the parameters of the multichannel pilot model.

Integrated Design of the Motion Cueing System for a Wright Flyer Simulator

Given a specific flight vehicle and a flying task—in this case, the 1903 Wright Flyer—a forward design process can be utilized to specify a corresponding flight simulator motion cueing system. This process, presented in this paper, is based on the analysis of the pilot‐vehicle control loop by using a pilot model incorporating both visual and vestibular feedback and the aircraft dynamics. After substituting the pilot model to control the simulated aircraft, the analysis tools are used to adjust the washout filter parameters with the goal of maintaining the original pilot control behavior as much as possible. This process allows the objective specification of the motion cueing algorithm. Then, based on flight files representative of the operational flight envelope the required motion system work space is determined. The motion-base geometry is established based on practical limitations, as well as criteria for the stability of the platform with respect to singular conditions. With this process the characteristics of the aircraft, the tasks to be simulated, and the missions themselves are taken into account in defining the simulator motion cueing system.