This application will be one of our featured demos at the ITEC 2010 Conference and Exhibition next week in London. We first presented this demo at Avionics 2010 conference in Amsterdam ealier this year in March.
Similar to the two previous “Anatomy of a Demo” articles that you can read in this blog, this is also a look at how an application was built using our technologies. As with most projects, we took a phased approach to develop this demonstration, first focusing on the user controls, then moving to the simulation of each system one by one. The following diagram depicts the final architecture of the project.
Creating the control panel
Using the wide variety of VAPS XT design elements, including drop-down lists, windows, buttons, sliders as well as more avionics-oriented elements such as the ADI, we were able to quickly create a control panel with the necessary components to send commands to the vehicle’s payload and to control its flight path. We were also able to create a situation map so that an operator could get a sense of direction of the UAS as well as visualize the orientation of the payload relative to the main vehicle body.
Visualizing the camera feed
Once this first building block was in place, the next area that was needed was the simulation of the UAS visual camera feed. The obvious solution for this element was to use Vega Prime with its Camera Effect module. Using the existing integration between Vega Prime and VAPS XT, the two graphical elements were easily merged in a single application where the user could take control of the UAS payload and specify where the vehicle’s camera should be pointing.
Adding realistic flight dynamics
The third piece of the puzzle was to add realistic flight dynamics to the mix so that the simulated visuals could accurately represent the motion of a UAS. This also enabled control of the vehicle’s flight as well as obtaining accurate responses from the user’s input. We used FlightSIM, with its pre-defined Micro UAV model and auto-pilot system, to get the required high-fidelity physics-based flight simulation.
Creating the scenario
At this point in the project development, we already had an interesting simulation in place, but the visual scene was quite static. To address this concern, we added our STAGE generated synthetic environment to simulate other entities and send them to the visual system and control panel for display. The connection to Vega Prime was done using out-of-the box DIS/HLA support included in the soon-to-be-released Vega Prime 4.0, whereas the control panel received its data via nCOM. DIS packets received across the network are converted to visual models in the Vega Prime 3D scene and animated within the scene. We also took advantage of the new CDB support in Vega Prime 4.0 to use a single copy of the terrain database and ensure correlation between our 3D visuals and 2D tactical environment.
Realistic UAS Operator Training
The end result is a very realistic training environment that emulates the functionality of a UAS Ground Station. If you have the chance to attend ITEC 2010 from May 18th to 20th, drop by our booth J110 to see this new demonstration as well as our Helicopter Pilot Technology Demonstrator and much more. Also, check back for live blogging from the show floor!
