Driving Simulator Dome - Full Motion Platform / Virtual Reality GRP dome screen

XPI Simulation / Nottingham University

Design & Display Structures have been working on a contract for XPI Simulation to design and build the motion-based simulation projection dome screen for their Nottingham University project.

Utilising years of engineering experience in the construction and leisure industries, including projection domes of various configurations supplied worldwide, D&D will provide a complete pod solution comprising structural floor, steel frameworks to firmly locate six HD projectors and GRP dome enclosure with entrance and connection points for the necessary M&E services.

Wrapping around a vehicle (either a Jaguar X type or BMW Mini) the whole pod structure will be mounted and moved in the required directions by XPI’s driving simulator software controlling a Bosch Rexroth triangular motion base.

As most existing driving simulators do not meet the visual resolution required by driving tests the University’s psychology department wanted a simulator which not only provided realistic movements in a believable environment but also matched the eyesight requirement for driving.

XPI’s solution is to adapt the driving controls of a real Jaguar X-type, mounted in a dome on a hexapod with blended images from six high resolution projectors. Having focused on UK driving simulation for almost five years, XPI claims to have the most extensive library of UK road types and artificial intelligence rules representing typical UK driving behaviour.

The dome construction has been designed, manufactured, preassembled, checked for form and function before being repackaged in kit form ready for transportation and site installation which is taking place during November 2010.

For further information please contact Allan Curtis on 07718 320184.

XPI news page:

XPI Simulation has delivered two of the most powerful driving simulators to the University of Nottingham’s Psychology department. One has full motion simulation and is networked to the other which is static; both have wide angle views of very high resolution road layout from LIDAR scans of the local area and eye-trackers.

Alan Davenport of XPI said “We were particularly pleased to design this system as it enabled us to pull together a number of newly developed, advanced driving features with the latest high resolution projectors. In particular, it has award winning artificial intelligence driving the other cars, a high detail LIDAR scan of about 20 Km route in Nottingham and a modular network backbone linking the two simulator”.

The main simulator, NITES1, has a BMW Mini with fully integrated controls and force feedback, housed in a 360° projection dome, seated on a 6 DoF hexapod. It has realistic sound, eye tracking cameras & other features