Difference between revisions of "Half Cab miniSim"

Revision as of 14:32, 8 November 2017

This is our flagship miniSim. A real car halved just behind the front seats. All automobile controls, functions and features are retained. Display options include 180-degree projection screen. As close to real as it gets.

Hardware

• miniSim PC (rackmount case)
  • Windows 10 Pro
  • ASRock X299 Motherboard
  • Intel Core i9 3.3GHz 10-Core Processor
  • 2 SSD in RAID-1 configuration (500 Gb ea, 500 Gb usable)
  • 32 GB DDR4 SDRAM
  • NVidia Quadro Pascal P6000 and P2000 GPUs
• Optional NADS VidCap video capture system
• Uninterruptable power supply (UPS)
• Audio amplifiers for speakers and Tactile Transducers

Software

Software as per the separate UIRF Software Transfer:

• NADS miniSim™ real-time driving simulation software
• NADS ISAT™ scenario authoring tool for creating/modifying scenarios
• NADS TMT™ virtual environment authoring tool with >100 sample tiles
• NADS nDaqTools and GUI for Matlab to assist in Data Reduction
• NADS VidCap Video Capture software (if VidCap hardware is delivered)

Tile Mosaic Tool software per the separate Rockwell Collins agreement:

• NADS TMT™ virtual environment authoring tool with 92 sample tiles

Optional Software

• Springfield Road Network

Cab Characteristics

• Constructed from a compact car (Ford Focus, Honda Fit, Honda Civic, etc )
• Modified as required to accept NADS active steering loader, pedal loader, and interface electronics.
• Mounted on casters and leveling feet
• Disassembles to fit through a 38”W x 83”H door opening. It may be possible to fit a 36” opening depending on the donor car and modifications.
• The physical mirrors are retained
• Air bag inflators removed (bags stay in place if necessary)
• Two front and two rear interior speakers
• Two tactile transducers for engine and vibration
• Subwoofer mounted in engine bay

Cab Electromechanical Characteristics

• Utilizes a 10.1” 16:9 aspect ratio LCD display for instrument cluster
• Utilizes industrial quality USB cab interface boards for driver inputs
• Industrial Power Strip, 15A, 120V mounted in Firewall Area
• The following switch inputs are instrumented
  • Left/Right Turn Signals
  • Hazard Switch
  • Horn
  • Headlight on/off
  • High-beam on/off
  • Wiper on/off
  • Auxiliary Left/Right momentary buttons on wheel
  • Seatbelt switch
  • Parking brake
  • Ignition ‘on’ and ‘start’. The ‘start’ is momentary
• The Brake pedal retains a modified master cylinder to provide force feedback
  • miniSim reads fluid pressure transducer signal
• The Accelerator pedal is the stock drive by wire pedal
  • miniSim reads the analog signal directly
• The steering wheel angle instrumented with optical encoder (part of steering loader)
• The stock audio speaker locations are retained
• Subwoofer mounted under hood
• Tactile transducers under floor and firewall

Display System

The proposed display system is comprised of the following:

• A smooth, cylindrical soft screen of about 3.0m [10 ft] radius
• Two front projectors of 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution
• One 116” rear projection screen with projector of 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution
• The miniSim PC will perform the warping/blending using Scalable Desktop from Scalable Display Technologies.

The miniSim PC contains NVIDIA Quadro Maxwell M6000 and M4000 cards to support the automated warping and blending application and projector synchronization. The system provides manual and automated alignment and blending between the two front channel projectors, with the included GigE Camera. The alignment camera can be mounted to the roof of the cab, or on a tripod placed at the driver eyepoint.

For the proposed two-projector system with warping and blending, two NVIDIA Quadro cards are required; The M6000 for the front two projectors, and the M4000 for the rear channel and operator display. For this system, three projectors of 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution are proposed. The projector will be DLP with a contrast ratio of at least 10,000 and brightness greater than 2000 lumens, such as the BenQ 1085ST. This unit accommodates a short throw (throw ratio 0.67-0.83), allowing the placement of the projectors over the cab and safely out of the way. NADS will supply the projector mounts and mounting location information; the customer will install the mounts per NADS specifications.

Due to the room requirements, video and USB extenders are used between the minisim PC and the operator station so that they can be separated by up to 50 ft. A 4-channel high-definition video monitoring system is included that provides a high-quality quad-split display to monitor the simulator and research participant. As an option, a NADS VidCap video recording PC can be included that will record this quad-split channel, with user-selectable data (including frame number) superimposed on the video to allow later analysis and comparison with the recorded simulator data. A 116” diagonal rear projection display and stand is placed behind the cab and used to provide an image for the center rear view mirror.

Schedule

The start date for the project occurs when NADS receives the Award Activation Notice (AAN) issued by the University’s Division of Sponsored Programs (DSP). This occurs after DSP has reviewed the Purchase Order and any issues have been resolved. Once the system is shipped and received, arrangements will be made for installation and training. Typically, travel arrangements are made 14 days in advance.

Lead-time from the date of the Award Activation Notice is 8 months.

Notes:

• It may be possible for there to be two trips for the installation – one for the screen/projector system, and one for the cab.
• Lead time based on current backlog at fabricator
• Schedule will be updated when cab order is paced with fabricator