National Soaring Museum Glider Simulation

Zeb Ford-ReitzChris GuyMatt MullinKaren RothStefan Schmid

Faculty Coach: Professor Hawker

Sponsors: National Soaring Museum and RIT College of Engineering

Introduction

• What is a glider?– Unpowered aircraft that uses rising air to gain altitude– Towplanes or winches to launch

• Working in conjunction with a College of Engineering Multidisciplinary Senior Design Team to develop a simulation of the Schweizer 1-26 for the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, NY

• Stakeholders – National Soaring Museum and Sponsors/Patrons, College of Engineering, Software Engineering Department

• Simulator will be placed inside of Simulator will be placed inside of the National Soaring Museum as a the National Soaring Museum as a display and used as a traveling display and used as a traveling exhibit to teach children about flight.exhibit to teach children about flight.

• Simulation includes both a computer Simulation includes both a computer simulated model and a physical 3-simulated model and a physical 3-degree of freedom motion platformdegree of freedom motion platform

• Motion Platform Components

• Final Concept

COE’s Progress

Requirements

• Elicited from COE team via:– Weekly team meetings– Concept sketches/diagrams

• From Soaring Museum via:– E-mail

• Major Requirements– Visual simulation of 1-26 glider

integrated with motion platform

Solution

• Needed graphics and flight dynamics engine

• FlightGear!– Open source flight simulator– Written in C/C++

• Uses XML components

Constraints

• Customer Preference– Windows OS

• FlightGear supports a maximum of 2 joysticks under Windows

• Using Agile Methodology– Iteration-based– Light-weight documentation– Velocity – High requirements volatility– Weekly meetings/e-mail with

sponsors

Process Methodology

System Components

• Operator Interface• Pilot Interface• Flight Dynamics• Joysticks Bindings• Plane Model• Landscape Model• Driver Communication

System Diagram

Visual Simulation Computer

Joystick Interface

Drivers

«deploy»

Motion platform device driver

OperatorInterface

Pilot Interface

«deploy»

«deploy»

«deploy»

Motion Simulation DeviceUSB link

Motion Platform

GameJoysticks

Pilot Joystick

Rudder Pedals

«XML file»Joystick bindings

«deploy»

Cockpit Projector

«.exe»FlightGear

OperatorInterface

Joystick Interface

Drivers

«XML file»Joystick bindings

Motion platform device driver

«File»Glider flight dynamics «File»

Glider appearance model

«File»Elmira, NY landscape

«initializes,configures»

Motion Platform Interface

Pilot Interface

Deployment DiagramDeployment Diagram

Ramp-Up Activities• Project Plan• Vision & Scope• Research• Risk Mitigation Strategies• Initial Test Plan• Metrics defined

– Slippage– Effort by type of activity– Requirements Volatility– Velocity

Iteration 1 – Current phase

• Currently near the end of Iteration 1• Includes:

– Designed controls to receive input from two joystick sources and interpret the data to be sent back to the simulator

– Defined flight dynamics stub to be used for COE team

– Initial draft of communication protocol– Designed Operator Interface (Includes

Start/Stop functionality) and controls to interact with FlightGear

Operator Interface Prototype

Things That Worked

• Having weekly meetings with COE team

• Flightgear• Computer

– Built and setup with compiled flightgear

• Identifying and managing risks• Joysticks

Things That Didn’t Work

• Windows vs. Linux – Three joysticks– Made for multiple platforms to run on

• Uses older DOS style joystick interface that only allowed 2 joysticks

• Would have had to convert all OpenGL stuff to DirectX and use DirectInput to get more joysticks up

• Significant System Integration Testing• We had high hopes at the beginning, but

we are beginning to realize everything can’t be done in the timeframe

Future Increments• Will include:

– Top Priority• Motion platform driver interface• Add functionality to control all options on the Operator

Interface• Design of new landscape and airplane models that

represent Elmira, NY and the Schweizer 1-26• Integration of flight dynamics into model• Setup of time limits• Distribution Package• Training

– Medium Priority• Addition of thermals and wind pattern control• Design of a demo-mode that the simulator is in when not

being used– Low Priority

• Design of a take-off scenario• Add ability to change the weather

Questions?

Blown-up Deployment

Visual Simulation Computer

Joystick Interface

Drivers

Motion platform device driver

OperatorInterface

Pilot Interface

USB Drivers«XML file»Joystick bindings

«.exe»FlightGear

«File»Glider appearance model

«File»Glider flight dynamics

«File»Elmira, NY landscape

«deploy»

«deploy»

«deploy»

«deploy»

«deploy»

«deploy»

«deploy»

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