Cable Robot Simulator [video]

This seems like a poor fit for VR motion simulation - actual movement through space is generally unnecessary, you just need to gimbal the platform to simulate accelerations. Actual linear acceleration is of limited value in simulation because you can't maintain that acceleration indefinitely - you run out of room and have to apply an opposite acceleration, which can conflict with the simulation needs.

On the other hand this looks more useful for something like movie making, to throw actors around in front of a greenscreen.

Re: Cable Robot Simulator [video]

#6

Post by aresant » Wed, Sep 23, 2015, 4:30 PM UTC

I purchased a commercial motion simulator as part of research for a vr tech we're working on and while you can immediately see the potential, it's not quite there yet.

Some resources to share

If you buy a simulator - offsetting to the chair with the rift is a work in progress https://forums.oculus.com/viewtopic.php?t=7933 - and not currently supported in the Oculus SDK. I can't find the thread but Oculus has said that's a "future tech" goal.

Excellent thread on currently available options / configurations - https://forums.oculus.com/viewtopic.php?t=1673

A great resource with a community of enthusiasts that have tried nearly every sim on the market (racing specific, but still the best) is here - http://www.isrtv.com/forums/

Re: Cable Robot Simulator [video]

#7

Post by udev » Wed, Sep 23, 2015, 4:40 PM UTC

jameshart wrote: post #5

This seems like a poor fit for VR motion simulation - actual movement through space is generally unnecessary, you just need to gimbal the platform to simulate accelerations. Actual linear acceleration is of limited value in simulation because you can't maintain that acceleration indefinitely - you run out of room and have to apply an opposite acceleration, which can conflict with the simulation needs. On the other ha…

I agree that rotation should be enough for VR purposes, and linear translation of the subject is not strictly necessary.

Any acceleration up to g = 9.81 m / s^2 can be easily simulated, and it can be maintained indefinitely. All you need to do is to rotate the subject so that the perceived acceleration is aligned with g, or keep it at an angle, to get a fraction of g. Interestingly, for VR you don't need to simulate velocity, as it cannot be perceived by the body.

Flight simulators have been using this approach for decades now, and it works really well: http://arabiansupplychain.com//pictures/300x200/CAE-simulato...

But this system looks to have the advantage of being able to simulate accelerations above g.

PS: Is gimbal a verb now?

Re: Cable Robot Simulator [video]

#8

Post by eps » Wed, Sep 23, 2015, 4:45 PM UTC

If you like this, lookup "6DOF platform" - there's an active scene of people who tinker with home-made motion platforms, primarily for simulator games. Some very impressive stuff there, e.g. http://motionsim.blogspot.ch

Re: Cable Robot Simulator [video]

#9

Post by beambot » Wed, Sep 23, 2015, 4:51 PM UTC

Cable Robots are generally a very interesting technology. I wrote a bit about them (eg. for 3D printing, as a crane, etc) a while back: http://www.hizook.com/blog/2014/07/15/stadium-sized-3d-print...

Re: Cable Robot Simulator [video]

#10

Post by darkmighty » Wed, Sep 23, 2015, 4:52 PM UTC

jameshart wrote: post #5

This seems like a poor fit for VR motion simulation - actual movement through space is generally unnecessary, you just need to gimbal the platform to simulate accelerations. Actual linear acceleration is of limited value in simulation because you can't maintain that acceleration indefinitely - you run out of room and have to apply an opposite acceleration, which can conflict with the simulation needs. On the other ha…

Gimbals are limited to ||acceleration||=1g. I guess there are some elements you miss from that, like when a roller coaster starts to fall (you experience 1g). Here you can provide a bit of both and also gimbal action. There's also rotation effects (which I don't know if are felt) that can be mitigated too and better jerk simulation (not only acceleration, but variation of acceleration).

Actually if your whole simulation has ||aceleration||>1g you should be able to do it perfectly (save for jerk/rotation effects) with some large centrifuge: the rate of rotation of the large centrifuge dictates the "perceived gravity" and gimbals dictate the "perceived direction". In this sense it would be perfect if you could get a centrifuge with a gimbaled end in a 0g environment.

Hey NASA, I have this one little idea for the ISS... :)