Optimising the Vestibular Cues Available from a Short Stroke Hexapod Motion Platform

This paper presents the findings of research conducted at the University of Liverpool aimed at optimising the cues from a short stroke motion platform for a series of typical low speed helicopter manoeuvres. Piloted simulation experiments were conducted to gather both objective and subjective measures of simulator fidelity for manoeuvres performed in the roll-sway and yaw axes. These measures include subjective ratings taken using a new motion fidelity rating scale. The key findings of the experiments show that for a coordinated roll-sway task, acceptable motion cues are only obtained by careful selection of the motion filter gains in both the roll and sway axes. The phase distortion introduced by the motion drive algorithm in the roll axis also had a significant impact on pilot perception of fidelity. In the yaw axis the most acceptable motion was obtained when congruent cues were provided in both the rotational and translational axes. This contrasts with previous research that suggested yaw axis rotational motion was of less importance.