DEVELOPMENT OF A SIMULATOR CUING FIDELITY EVALUATION PACKAGE

SIMULATOR SICKNESS IS LINKED TO CUING FIDELITY LOSS IN SIMULATOR VISUAL, MOTION, AND INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEMS. CURRENT SIMULATOR CUING EVALUATION METHODS CONSIST OF QUALITATIVE PILOT EVALUATIONS, SELECTED TESTING OF HARDWARE, HAND REDUCTION OF TIME RESPONSE DATA, AND LIMITED AUTO-TESTING. LACK OF STANDARDIZATION HAS RESULTED IN EVALUATION TECHNIQUES LACKING EFFICIENCY, RELIABILITY, AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS. SCT PROPOSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PORTABLE 1486 BASED, REAL-TIME, DATAACQUISITION/PROCESSING SYSTEM FOR EVALUATING CUING FIDELITY. THIS SYSTEM WILL INCORPORATE OFF-THE-SHELF VISUAL, MOTION, AND COCKPIT INSTRUMENTATION EVALUATION SENSORS, SPECIALIZED DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING SOFTWARE, A STANDARD DATA INTERFACE FOR TRANSFERRING DYNAMIC SIMULATOR DATA, STANDARD TEST PROCEDURES, AND A BIN-MEDICAL INSTRUMENTATION PACKAGE. COMPACT PACKAGING WILL ALLOW TRANSPORTATION ANYWHERE IN THE FLEET, OR TO ANY TRAINING FACILITY. A STANDARD DATA INTERFACE WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO USE THE SAME DEVICE TO TEST ALL TYPES OF SIMULATORS IN A QUICK, AND EFFECTIVE MANNER. STANDARD PROCEDURES WILL ALLOW STANDARD TRAINER CUING EVALUATIONS, COMPARISON CUING EVALUATIONS BETWEEN TRAINERS, AND BUILDING OF TRAINERS TO GIVEN SPECIFICATIONS WITHOUT BUILDING CUSTOM EQUIPMENT TO VERIFY COMPLIANCE. THE RESULTING HIGHER FIDELITY TRAINERS WILL HAVE LOWER INCIDENCES OF SIMULATOR SICKNESS, AND CORRESPONDINGLY IMPORVED TRAINING TRANSFER AND FLEET READINESS.