The new Dynamic Driving Simulator at DLR

Abstract

The DLR Institute of Transportation Systems is conducting research in driver's behaviour and interaction with advanced and future driver assistant systems. It has recently built up a large motion based simulator to be able to simulate driving situations and new assistance functions with a very high degree of realism. This paper will describe in detail the requirements and design ideas of the new simulator and show some first impressions of the simulator in operation. The simulator is a motion based system with a high quality large field of view projection system and carries a full vehicle cabin. An innovative hexapod design with the hydraulic cylinders hinged at the upper rim of the projection system delivers a very large motion envelope within only six meters ceiling height. Another benefit of the novel design is that the rotation point is lying in a plane below the actuator hinges, which promises a big advantage for tilt coordination. A modular rear-projection system with nine channels equipped with high resolution DLP-projectors offers a field of view of 270°x40° and a total resolution of about 8500x1240 pixels. The use of a rear projection system guarantees an unobstructed projection even with a large cockpit. The simulator is driven by a real passenger car, a VW Golf. This increases the driver's impression of reality dramatically. All driver control inputs are available via the vehicles bus-systems plus special sensors. A high quality steering force simulation enhances the controllability of the simulator.