Co-Simulation Environment for the Analysis of the Driving Simulator's Actuation

Driving simulators are providing the user realistic feedback regarding the required visual, auditory, haptic and kinesthetic information. The most common way of imposing the motion of the driving simulator is by the 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) Stewart hexapod platform. The actuation of the platform is performed through a mechatronic device, composed by a synchronous motor, belt drive, and a screw-ball mechanism. The simulation of the driving simulator's actuation has to validate the motion platform characteristics. Combining different software packages and taking advantage of the strength of each of them, a collaborative co-simulation environment is opening the doors for powerful virtual prototyping and testing tools. In this paper, the co-simulation environment is using three powerful simulation software packages (Simcenter Amesim, Simcenter 3D Motion and Matlab/Simulink). In this environment were established the electromechanical model of the actuators, the dynamical model of the motion platform and the control module of the permanent magnet synchronous motors. The result of the co-simulation is confirming that the imposed motion of the platform can be achieved on the driving simulator. The motion of the platform was checked with an optical tracking device by attaching a reflective marker on the platform and recording its movement.