Simulator Information

Environnmental models include:

Wind (where appropriate):
• Direction
• Turbulence
• Speed
Tide:
• Direction
• Speed
Sea state (from the Bretschneider Spectrum)
Wave direction

The navaids available as standard within the simulators include:

2 x GPS (position and ground velocity),
2 x Gyrocompass,
Inertial sensors,
Pitot/static sensors for depth/altitude/speed.

Each of these instruments exhibits errors, latency and finite update rates which may be adjusted to reflect various systems. All navaids may be set to perfect accuracy if desired. The main ship control console displays are derived from the navaids and the navaid data is used by the autopilot controllers.

Each sensor model is able to transmit data using the appropriate protocols. Many sensors output NMEA 0183 data; others may be proprietary such as TCM2, Doppler logs, inertial sensors and so on. Many commonly used output formats are supported; if you need one which we have not included, let us know and it can be added, often at no charge.

The Monitor item provides access to a data logging facility which enables any simulation parameters to be logged to file. The time increment between logged data points is user-selectable. At the end of the simulation run, the data is available in two formats:

'.MAT' files which can be read directly by Matlab for analysis or display,
'.TXT' files, which are tab-delimited columns of text, readable by a standard spreadsheet.

As well as logging the data to file, any parameters can be displayed on a simple scope screen. Several scope screens may be set up, and each provides up to four traces (colour-coded) to examine various parameters in real time. Originally this was written as a debugging tool but it was found so useful that it was decided to leave it in the simulator as a permanent feature.

All the simulators include a comprehensive communications facility. This allows new serial ports to be configured for any of the supported protocols, and data may be routed from any appropriate sensor. A user-friendly top-level dialog shows at a glance the bandwidth usage on each port, and by double-clicking on any entry the data may be further viewed and configured.

NMEA - A wide range of instrument sentences are supported and a fully flexible NMEA port management facility is used.

SSSCP - RS232 communication with external autopilot and between simulation sessions - providing:

The remote control operator interface during operation,
Testing,
Multiple vehicle simulation.

Analogue and Digital I/O - The simulators support a very flexible interface which provides the following facilities via H Scientific's GENIE input/output modules:

Analogue input for control: the rudders, engines, thrusters, hydroplanes, elevators etc. may be controlled either by direct analogue input or by controlling a simulated actuator such as a hydraulic pump. This enables real autopilots to be hooked up to the simulation.
Analogue outputs for data feedback: the machinery achieved settings (such as rudder angles, shaft rpm's) may be applied to output pins.
Analogue outputs may also be connected to the sensors, such as the simulated MEMS rate sensors, accelerometers, fluxgate compass and pressure sensor signals.
Each input / output channel is configurable including clipping levels, mapping and input hysteresis.

For more information, please use the Enquiries form.