VIRTUAL SIMULATOR MODULE

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VIRTUAL SIMULATOR MODULE
AUTHORS PREFACE SIMULATION SYSTEM SUPPORTED BY
STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY Not long ago,
simulators substituted only in a simplified way
the real training systems. With the tremendous
advances brought by the various modern
developments, the greater novelties are being
enabled most of all by the development of new
technologies in the areas of data processing and
automation. The bigger impact resulting from
these developments allow the magic of
audio-visual virtual reality to be combined with
motions that reproduce completely the tactile
sensations of flying, driving a vehicle or
embarkation Mário Sérgio de Castro Faria
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VIRTUAL SIMULATOR MODULE
The concept of the virtual simulator with
unlimited motions breaks the conventional
barriers, but the software that commands it is
even more astounding. One great novelty is that
the simulator can be adapted for whatever
situation one wants to simulate The conversion
from an aircraft to another is as easy as to
carry out from a plane or to a helicopter the
changes are realized basically through the
substitution of the software by a specific
operational kit. Such simulator, with unlimited
angular motions, which is internationally
patented as an invention, should cause a
revolution in the concept of virtual reality.
This equipment allows a bodily interaction that
is much greater than the existing
simulators. Static conventional simulators allow
up to six degrees of freedom (only visual), also
known as 6D and 6 DOF, which refer to the
capacity of moving an object within the
cybernetic space, freely along the Cartesian axes
X, Y and Z, i.e., simply moving visually an
object upwards and downwards, forward, backward
and to the sides, or any combination of these
motions in every possible direction and angle,
imitating thus the freedom of movement in the
real world. Existing simulators of physical
motions allow the realization of only very
limited (cinematically and dynamically)
translating and rotating paths The new concept of
simulator offers three degrees of freedom with
effectively unlimited angular rotating motions,
and optionally one more degree of freedom in a
vertical translating motion, making a total of 10
synchronized virtual degrees of freedom.
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VIRTUAL SIMULATOR MODULE
Pilot-instructors of chase and search-and-save
operations, when utilizing audio-visual F-22
simulators, running on a simple PC platform, say,
they are simply fantastic, but being up there is
a sensation that cannot still be simulated on a
PC. According to an acrobatics pilot, flying
interacting (bodily) with the laws of physics
cannot be described, specially when flying a
small plane. Although he has this exclusive
acrobatics experience, he would like to feel the
virtual flight of a Tucano (EMBRAER) spinning
somersaults in the smoke. Imagine yourself
bodily immerse in a virtual environment, being
submitted to mechanical forces reproduced with
maximum fidelity by a high-dynamics simulator,
also provided with state-of-the-art video and
audio! The real applications for the new concept
are limited only by imagination. Effective
selection and training in the military areas can
be performed at a very low cost, without risk for
human lives and with no damage nor risk of losing
real highly expensive strategic equipment.
Another field of application of a motion
simulator is when there are audio-visual
requirements. For instance, for training users of
terrestrial, aquatic and aerial commercial,
military and private transportation, and also
competition vehicles, and even for high level
leisure. Besides the simulation itself, with this
new simulator, due to its high level
representation of the real situation, it will
also be possible to analyze structural issues in
the tested equipment, without the need to build
real prototypes.
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VIRTUAL IMMERSION
First, picture in your mind a simulation that
incorporates the many technologies that power
simulation. The trainee is given a helmet with a
visor, a stereoscopic display that projects
stereo images directly in front of the eyes in
order to create a three-dimensional image,
equipped with a tracking device to identify the
orientation of the head. Together with the
immersion system of virtual reality, these
devices immerge the user in the virtual visual
world represented on the display, producing the
most perfect illusion of his/her presence in an
artificial reality. Eventually a bodysuit is also
provided, which is a garment adjusted to the
body, filled with sensors and used as an input
and output device in a virtual reality system,
allowing complete graphical representations of
the users body in the cybernetic space and a
glove (Data Glove), which is a input and output
device, and it is represented in the virtual
environment as a hand, with the capacity of
bending and moving to manipulate objects and/or
transmit information through gestures. These
gestures, which are seen by the trainee in its
scene, permit the tracking of its location,
besides providing an adequate sensitive end
(tactile feedback), which has the capacity of
receiving answers from the computer through the
sense of tact. Within the helmet the trainee
sees the panel of instruments the same way it is
found in any weapon system or simulated aircraft.
A modification for another aircraft, or other
type of vehicle, would require only a change in
the software and operating kit.
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SCENERY AND SIMULATION WITH UP TO 10 DEGREES OF
FREEDOM
The installation of a simulator module in a
linear motion equipment, e.g. vertical, similar
to an elevator, allows the increment of one
degree of freedom of linear motion imposed to the
user. This is important for simulating the
landing and take-off maneuvers on aircraft
carriers with greater realism. For such, this
linear motion must also be synchronized with the
virtual reality programming of the module, the
same way as the three rotating axes are
synchronized with the audio-visual events of the
simulation.
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NEW DEVELOPMENTS ON TOTAL INTERACTION
Two or more simulator modules can be connected by
a simulation network and operate in common events
(maneuvers, acrobatics, fights) either to
simulate each one a given mobile (e.g. airplane),
or to simulate the same mobile but with a crew of
two or more people interacting in virtual reality
between one another in a given scenery. The
individual simulators do not need to be
physically located one near the other, and since
they are compact, they can also be aboard ships
(aircraft carriers) in a domestic environment
in different cities / countries in the space
outside the gravitational field, on mobile
trucks, etc.
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THE APPLICATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIESInterface
man-machine
It is the art and science of manufacturing
computers whose use is easy and intuitive for the
people, in which the process of interaction
between computers and people who use them is
examined, based on physical, psychological,
cognitive and ergonomic paradigms. For instance,
the development of systems for speech
recognition, brain waves detection, rectinas
motion detection and other high efficiency
man-machine interface methods to be utilized for
commanding the aircraft and its armament.
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COMPUTING HARDWARE
There is certainly a lot of computing hardware
available to potentially satisfy virtual reality
requirements This could include personal
computers where performance and image quality
demands are moderate or low. For those demanding
applications where high levels of realism and
smooth motion are required, Unix workstations are
rapidly becoming the platform of
choice. Combining exceptional 3D graphics
processing with highly parallel multiprocessing,
some of today's Unix workstations are actually
conquering markets which were previously served
only by manufacturers of specialized
simulation-only computers. Simulation and virtual
reality applications are actually multiple
programs which have been combined. Many different
types of processing must be handled by the
computer, without unwanted delay or interruption
of the visual display. Only multi-processing
architectures, properly implemented and carefully
controlled by application software, can provide
the required level of computing in a single
system. The alternatives would include the use of
multiple computer systems, connected by
high-speed data connections or reflective memory.
There are obvious cost and performance issues
with such an architecture. Multi-processing
architectures allow the different processes to be
allocated through the computer, and the
application software can be used to control the
link of appropriate processes / processors for
maximum utilization. Such control also allows
the link of the Unix operating system to a
particular processor, assuring that the virtual
reality processes maintain their required
priorities.
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APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Certainly, the most technically demanding aspect
of real-time visual simulation and virtual
reality is that of developing the application
software. This is where the user, the hardware
and the database all come together for the
desired level of quality, performance, visual and
sensitive realism. The use of virtual reality
aims at entering into a graphical environment
shared in the cybernetic space, for human
communication and interaction, or for making a
virtual environment far from the real world
electronically present, and then to perform
actions in a three-dimensional environment, that
produces the illusion of presence within an
artificial environment (Tele-presence). The
system needs to be seen and referred to as a
whole. Balanced control over the maximum
input/output of the machine is crucial.
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MOTIVATING FACTORS AND ADVANCED TRAINING SYSTEMS
There are three primary factors that drive
decisions to use a new technology cost/profit,
competitive advantage and risk management. There
are other motivating factors, but they are
usually subsets of these three, which are the
basis for the majority of decisions concerning
the utilization of technology. In fact, the
predicted market of simulation and training in
the world will exceed four billion dollars a
year. The amount of new equipment and systems
being developed support a wide range of training
requirements, be it on the ground, sea or air.
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CURRENT AND FUTURE APPLICATION TRENDS
Those companies that have been in the business of
integrating simulators in training systems are
witnessing an accelerated trend towards the
application of simulation technology both in the
military and in the commercial markets, and in
some cases with an advantage to the commercial
area. This phenomenon also originated an entirely
new market in the commercial sector the
entertainment industry. In the commercial area,
two products that have been developed contributed
towards reducing the difference between military
and commercial technology. The first was the
rapid increase in the availability, adequacy and
capacity of personal computers to the people.
Something that the older generations in many
cases considered fearsome became common and
familiar to the newest generations. The
computational power increased unbelievably.
Today, even many military simulations utilize
PCs. The second developed product is the video
games. Something that had its birth with a simple
bouncing ball, incorporated cartoon
characteristics, and variations of the possible
outcomes, and quickly generated an enormous
following. Video arcades emerged, and many
people, both old and young, became mesmerized by
Pac-Man and other games. Currently, it is being
witnessed the dawn of what is known today as the
world of Virtual Reality. The three forces
discussed above, i.e., the development of the
computer-generated imagery, the development and
popularization of the PCs, and the development
and acceptance of the video games all based on
the digital electronics technologies, are racing
each one along paths that will eventually join,
resulting in the trend that is seen today. While
this trend evolved naturally, there are external
influences, or milestones, that contribute
towards the increase of this trend.
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DISTRIBUTED INTERACTIVE SIMULATION
As in the proliferation and increase in the
capacity of personal computers and video-games,
the connection of computers to the network has
had a similar effect in eliminating the
distinction between the worlds of military,
commercial and entertainment simulation. The
roots of the Internet can be traced back to the
Arpa/Darpa program Advanced Research Projects
Agency, and later Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency. This is an American government
agency that created a large portion of the
research on computer science in USA since World
War II. The Information Highway has the same
roots. For years, the simulations were developed
in their own environment in order to meet a
certain particular need. There were various
different types, from war games to flight
simulators and strap-on MILES systems. As a
result of ARPAs program for a simulation network
(ARPA SIMNET) during the 80s, the concept of
many simulations exchanging information has
become more popular. Here the fundamental need
is for something basic in terms of communication
to allow the simulations to exchange information.
Thus, a working group was formed, involving
government, industry and academic personnel to
develop protocols (DIS standards), i.e. a
structure for message units, such that future
simulations could communicate with each other.