Realization of a Desktop Flight Simulation System for Motion-Cueing Studies

• Published in: International journal of advanced robotic systems Vol. 13; no. 3; p. 85
• Main Authors: Volkaner, Berkay, Sozen, S. Numan, Omurlu, V. Emre
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 11.05.2016; Sage Publications Ltd; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: Aircraft; Algorithms; Angular velocity; Communication; Computer simulation; Degrees of freedom; Flight simulation; Flight simulators; Gravity; Manipulators; Parallel degrees of freedom; Robot arms; Robotics; Software; Sound; Velocity; Washout filters; Turkey; Stewart Platform; Motion Cueing; Flight Simulator; Washout Filter
• ISSN: 1729-8806; 1729-8814; 1729-8814
• DOI: 10.5772/63239

Parallel robotic mechanisms are generally used in flight simulators with a motion-cueing algorithm to create an unlimited motion feeling of a simulated medium in a bounded workspace of the simulator. A major problem in flight simulators is that the simulation has an unbounded space and the manipulator has a limited one. Using a washout filter in the motion-cueing algorithm overcomes this. In this study, a low-cost six degrees of freedom (DoF) desktop parallel manipulator is used to test a classical motion-cueing algorithm; the algorithm's functionality is confirmed with a Simulink real-time environment. Translational accelerations and angular velocities of the simulated medium obtained from FlightGear flight simulation software are processed through a generated washout filter algorithm and the simulated medium's motion information is transmitted to the desktop parallel robotic mechanism as a set point for each leg. The major issues of this paper are designing a desktop simulation system, controlling the parallel manipulator, communicating between the flight simulation and the platform, designing a motion-cueing algorithm and determining the parameters of the washout filters.