MOTION-BASED SIMULATION
market with a new patented technology, designed to trick a driver’s mind and body into feeling as though it is in a real racecar. Launched in May 2011, the system is already proving popular and is being investigated by a number of F1 teams. Cranfield Motorsport
Simulation provides the driver with a range of carefully co-ordinated ‘cues’. The primary sensory cues come from the visual display, and these provide the brain with a large amount of information on the surroundings and the vehicle motion, relative to those surroundings. A ‘first level’ simulation is achieved when the visual inputs are augmented with co-ordinated aural inputs and force feedback to the muscles.
Cranfield Motorsport T
he research department of Cranfield University has moved into the simulation
vestibular and visual systems must be stimulated to induce the perception of self-motion. This is enhanced if the tactile systems of the body and the driver’s auditory system are also stimulated. In the racing environment, the important loads are experienced in the longitudinal and lateral directions, whereas in flight the largest loads are in the ‘normal’ (vertical) direction. This fundamental difference is a result of braking and cornering, where lateral loads of up to 4–5g are commonly experienced. To provide effective motion cueing, it is also necessary to consider the effects applied to the whole body, in particular the upper torso, with longitudinal acceleration / deceleration and lateral acceleration cues to simulate tyre slip, cornering and vibration. These cues are
How sensory cues can be used to trick the human mind and body Within the simulator, the
provided in three distinct ways: Eye position movement (kinaesthetic). Sustained pressure (somatic) cues from actuators placed around the seat bucket, as well as harness tension variation. True vibration cues, based on real vehicle data, are put in via an ethernet connection. Aerodynamic buffeting, engine vibration, track and tyre variations and other vibration- based cues can also be applied.
SUSTAINED MOTION CUEING Cranfield provides a series of onset and sustained cues. It combines the onset cues offered by a motion platform with sensory stimuli to the driver to represent the forces experienced on the torso and legs whilst driving the racecar around a track. The Sustained Motion Cueing System (SCMS) is situated in and around the
monocoque, with actuators in the driver’s seat structure, at those points where the driver experiences pressure as a result of the forces induced by high- speed driving. The cues provided by the SMCS are progressive (proportional to relevant g demand) and sustained until the demand is removed. In braking, the driver will feel as if he is being forced into the seat pan and feels an increase in harness tension. In longitudinal acceleration he will feel as if he is forced back into the seat and in cornering he will feel pressure to his torso as if he is being forced into the side of the seat / monocoque. All of the above are sustained cues and impart forces upon the driver according to the desired g loading. It could be the technology
needed to help drivers make the step between the simulated world and the real world.
Cranfield University’s simulator uses patented technology to fool the driver’s brain and body into thinking it’s having a real race experience
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www.racecar-engineering.com • September 2011
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