Motion base control process and operator perceptual simulator

A process for controlling an angular velocity of an arm and angular positions of gimbals of a gimbaled motion base system substantially duplicating predicted operator perceptions of angular motion from a simulated moving vehicle, said process including the steps, performed by a data processor of the system, of:

• controlling the angular velocity of the arm to be a constant angular velocity;
• computing the positions of the gimbals, in accordance with a total linear acceleration vector and a total angular accelerations vector of the simulated vehicle, the total linear acceleration vector having component linear accelerations Gxa, Gya, and Gza, and the total angular acceleration vector having component angular accelerations p.sub.a, q.sub.a, and r.sub.a ;
• controlling the positions of the gimbals in accordance with the computed gimbal positions;
• determining, for an operator of the motion base system and for an operator of the simulated vehicle, a predicted perception of angular motion about the pitch, roll, and yaw axes in accordance with the component linear accelerations and the component angular accelerations of the respective systems;
• comparing the predicted perception of angular motion about each axis by the operator of the motion base system to the predicted perception of angular motion about each axis by the operator of the simulated vehicle to determine a difference therebetween;
• and
• modifying the computed gimbal positions to substantially reduce said difference in perceived angular motion.

A process for generating an angular velocity of an arm and angular positions of gimbals of a gimbaled motion base system substantially duplicating predicted operator perceptions of angular motion from a simulated moving vehicle, said process including the steps, performed by a data processor, of:

• computing the angular velocity of the arm and the positions of the gimbals, wherein the computing step includes a step of computing a transition between sustained positive Gza and negative Gza via a pitch or roll maneuver, where Gza is a vertical acceleration component of the simulated vehicle of the simulated vehicle;
• controlling the angular velocity of the arm and the positions of the gimbals in accordance with the computed angular velocity and gimbal positions;
• determining, for an operator of the motion base system and for an operator of the simulated vehicle, a predicted perception of angular motion about each axis of the system in accordance with a total linear acceleration vector, having component linear accelerations Gx, Gy, and Gz, and component angular accelerations (p, q, and r) of the respective systems;
• comparing the predicted perception of angular motion about each axis by the operator of the motion base system to the predicted perception of angular motion about each axis by the operator of the simulated vehicle to determine a difference therebetween;
• ad
• modifying the computed gimbal positions to substantially reduce said difference in perceived angular motion.