Unmanned vehicle simulator

A unmanned vehicle (“UxV”) system simulator of a real UxV system comprising a sensing unit operating onboard a UxV configured to communicate over a communication link with a control unit, the UxV system simulator comprising:

• a computer processing device operatively connected to a display device, the processing device being configured to:
• display synthetic images on the display device, the synthetic images showing an artificial representation of an environment in which operation of a UxV is being simulated, the images are shown as if viewed from a vantage point of an imaging payload. located onboard the UxV;
• process the synthetic images to extract herefrom values of one or more graphic image parameters;
• responsive to a command issued with respect to the synthetic images, comparing the extracted values with respective predefined reference values;
• wherein the predefined reference values are graphic image parameters values extracted from synthetic images that provide an indication with respect to the synthetic images, as to whether or not execution of the command should be allowed by the simulator, when simulating a certain sensing unit;
• and
• simulate execution of the issued command only if the comparison between the extracted values and respective predefined reference values complies with at least one predefined condition, thereby increasing similarity between the simulation of an execution of a command by the simulator and the execution of the command by the real UAV system being simulated.

A computer-readable non-transitory memory device tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the computer for executing a method of simulating a real unmanned vehicle (“UxV”) system including a sensing unit operating onboard a UxV configured to communicate over a communication link with a control unit, the method comprising:

• using a computer processing device operatively connected to a display device for:
• displaying synthetic images on the display device, the synthetic images showing an artificial representation of an environment in which operation of a UxV is being simulated, the images are shown as if viewed from a vantage point of an imaging payload located onboard the UxV;
• processing the synthetic images to extract therefrom values of one or more graphic image parameters;
• responsive to a command issued with respect to the synthetic images, comparing the extracted values with respective predefined reference values;
• wherein the predefined reference values are graphic image parameters values extracted from synthetic images that provide an indication with respect to the synthetic images, as to whether or not execution of the command should be allowed by the simulator, when simulating a certain sensing unit;
• and
• simulating execution of the issued command only if the comparison between the extracted values and respective predefined reference values complies with at least one predefined condition, thereby increasing similarity between the simulation of an execution of a command and the of the execution of the command by the real UAV system being simulated.