Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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COCKPIT CONTROLS SIMULATION
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure is concerned with simulating pilot controls in an
aircraft
specifically, but not exclusively, in the development of a cockpit layout.
BACKGROUND
Pilot controls are used in a flight deck or cockpit of an aircraft to control
different
flight surfaces or control parameters such as power/thrust, braking etc.
Pilots
control flight using combinations of levers, handles, joysticks, switch,
buttons,
wheels, pedals. For example, a side stick is generally used for
right/left/forward/backward movement by the pilot to command moveable surfaces
of the aircraft for controlling the pitch and roll axes. The engine power or
thrust
might be controlled by levers moved forwards/backwards or operation of a so-
called
thrust assy.
Cockpit layouts will be designed to be simple and safe to operate and
consideration, when designing cockpits, will be given to a number of factors
including space and weight-saving, ergonomics, familiarity to pilots, ease of
access
and operation, the feel of the controls to the pilot, and the like. Many
configurations
and ergonomics are possible. Variables include the type of motion of the
controls ¨
e.g. linear or rotary; whether lever arms for rotation should be short pole or
long
pole, the direction and degree of travel of the control, the relative position
of any
grips or handles relative to the pilot and/or relative to the rest of the
lever or other
control member, e.g. should the grip be central, lateral etc., and also
characteristics
of force feel, force versus position and force versus speed.
During development of the aircraft, the layout of the cockpit and the pilot
controls is
defined in the early stages of the project.
Traditionally, the preferred layout is arrived at using an iterative process
whereby a
mock-up or prototype of the cockpit and each control is made and evaluated in
a
pilot simulation. Based on pilot feedback, iterations will be made until a
preferred
form for each control is arrived at. In the first mock-up, which will be very
simple,
the preferred shape of the control member and its direction and degree of
travel will
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be determined on an iterative basis. This might require 3 or four (or even
more)
mock-ups until the best designed is found. The iteration needs to be carried
out
separately for each aspect of the design ¨ e.g. first to identify the best
type of
motion for a given control and then to identify the best position, then the
best grip
shape etc. Each mock-up requires time to make, based on the feedback from the
previous mock-up and so the whole process is very time intensive and costly. A
cockpit design can take six to 12 months. Because of the time involved, a
controls
design team will usually start from a design they think will be close to the
preferred
option, rather than starting from scratch each time. Because of the desire to
include
as few iterations as possible, sometimes a team might settle for 'good enough'
rather than 'ideal'.
There is a need for a less time- and cost-intensive system for designing pilot
controls and cockpit layout.
SUMMARY
According to one aspect, the present disclosure provides a system for
simulating
pilot controls, comprising one or more computer controlled arms, arranged to
be
mounted in a cockpit environment and having a plurality of ranges of motion
and
trajectories and configured to receive a control member for operation by a
pilot.
According to another aspect, there is provided a method of designing pilot
controls
in cockpit, the method comprising controlling one or more arms, on which
is/are
mounted a control member, to locate the control member at different positions
and
allow movement of the control member in a plurality of movement directions and
trajectories.
The different movements preferably allow the possibility of different force
feedback.
The pilot can, from the force feedback, determine the optimal positions for
control
members such as levers, handles or pedals.
Preferably, a computer is provided to send commands to the arms to control the
position and/or movement of the arms.
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Preferably, feedback may be provided from the position and/or movement of the
arms to a flight simulator display which can be e.g. a screen or a virtual
reality
headset.
The system is preferably mounted in a cockpit simulator having a pilot seat
relative
to which the arms are positioned. The arms are mounted at an appropriate
location
in the simulator e.g. in front of the pilot seat, or behind, above or below
the seat.
The arms must be mounted such that the grips when mounted on the arms can be
moved to a location to be held and controlled by a pilot sitting in the seat.
The control computer can be mounted inside the cockpit simulator or outside
for
operation by a tester based on feedback from the pilot.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments will now be described by way of example only and with
reference to the drawings.
Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a simulator system for designing pilot controls
according to the disclosure.
Fig. 2 shows the system of Fig. 1 in use for simulating one possible pilot
controls
layout.
Fig. 3 shows the system of Fig. 1 in use for simulating another possible pilot
controls layout.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Pilots controls are designed in a simulated cockpit, similar to those know for
flight
simulation in e.g. pilot training. A pilot seat 1 is provided to simulated
where and
how a pilot 2 would be seated in the cockpit of an aircraft.
To design the best possible arrangement for the various flight controls, the
system
of the present disclosure includes one or more computer-controlled robotic or
haptic
arms (here, two arms 3,4 are shown but a single arm could be used or more than
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two.) The arms 3,4 will be described in more detail below, but these will have
a
range of movement and trajectories and will be mounted in the simulator
cockpit at
an appropriate location so that control members such as grips provided on the
arms
can be brought into reach of the pilot 2. In the embodiment shown, the arms
are
mounted in front of the pilot and extend towards the pilot. In other
embodiments, the
arms could be mounted and extend from behind, below or above the pilot. In
some
cases, it may be preferred that the arms are not in front of the pilot as the
fact that
s/he can see the arms might affect their perception of the controls during
testing.
A computer 5 is provided to send commands to the arms to command the desired
trajectory, travels, position and other parameters such as force, vibration or
other
factors that simulate the real 'feel' of pilot controls during flight. This
means that the
arms can be quickly and easily repositioned, have their travel or trajectory
altered
etc. until the preferred control member is found, rather than having to
repeatedly
make a new mock-up for testing by the pilot. The controls layout and
configuration
can then be set in a single sitting.
Preferably, the simulator cockpit is connected to a flight simulator computer
6 to
convert the positions of the arms to flight simulation graphics on a screen 9
in front
of the pilot and/or to a virtual reality (VR) headset worn by the pilot.
In some embodiments, computer 5 and computer 6 can be the same computer.
Grips 7 are mounted on the arms to simulate the part of the control that the
pilot
would hold. The grips are formed in the shape intended for the actual pilot
controls.
In the embodiment shown, grips for operation by the pilots hands are shown.
The
arms can also be provided with other control members such as pedals for
operation
by the pilot's foot, eg for braking, rudder control, etc. Preferably, these
can be easily
exchanged for grips of different shapes or sizes. In a preferred embodiment,
these
are made using 3D printing or additive manufacturing so that different shapes
can
be quickly provided during simulation and based on pilot feedback to determine
the
preferred shape for the final design.
The robotic arms 3,4 are hinged and articulated at various locations 8, 8', 8"
to
enable them to position the grips 7 relative to the pilot and to preform
different types
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of movement (e.g. linear, rotary) and travel and trajectory under the control
of the
computer 5.
The pilot, in the simulation, can then grasp the grips 7 or place a foot on
the pedal
and, based on the setting for the arms from the computer 5, the pilot will
experience
the kinematics and ergonomics ¨ i.e. type of movement, length of linear travel
or
radius of rotation etc. of the pilot control for those settings. In preferred
embodiments, the arms 3,4 can also be programmed to reproduce the intended
force feel e.g. the force versus position, force versus speed etc. when the
pilot
operates the grip 7. Based on feedback from the pilot for those settings the
parameters are adjusted and the pilot then experiences the feel of the
controls at
the new settings, and so on until the ideal arrangement is found.
Because the robotic arms have a wide range of possible movement, a wide range
of ergonomics can be quickly evaluated. For example, the pilot can test a side
stick
control having two axis of movement such as for controlling pitch and roll of
the
aircraft, or having three axes of movement such as for controlling pitch, roll
and
twist, or with four axes for testing control of up/down, pitch, roll and
twist.
Fig. 2, for example, shows the arms 3,4 arranged for the pilot to test two
side sticks
¨ i.e. two control sticks each located at a side of the pilot 2. The computer
sets
parameters for the arms in terms of where the grips 7 are located relative to
the
pilot 2, the trajectories ¨ shown by the arrows in Fig. 2 ¨ and whether the
controls
are long or short pole. The grip shape and size is selected for a first test
based on
experience. The pilot then operates the controls preferably observing the
flight
simulator graphics on a screen in front of him or through a virtual reality
headset
and provides feedback as to his perception of the controls with those settings
and
parameters. Based on the pilot's feedback ¨ e.g. grips to low, trajectory too
long,
force feedback too low, etc. new settings will be programmed at the computer 5
and
the arms 3,4 will take up those settings. The pilot will then operate the
controls with
the new settings and so on until the pilot finds the right ergonomics.
Fig. 3 shows and alternative layout providing one control in the form of a
central
stick between the pilot's legs and a side stick ¨ this time as a long pole
control.
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Again, the pilot will try the controls with the initial settings, provide
feedback and the
settings will be adjusted until the ideal settings are found.
The use of a VR headset for the pilot to experience the flight simulation can
be
preferred if the pilot might otherwise be distracted or perceive the controls
differently if he can see the robotic arms. With the VR headset, the pilot is
more
immersed in the flight scenario.
Using the system of this disclosure, different iterations of the controls
design can be
tested easily and quickly without the need to repeatedly physically create new
mock-ups of the controls for iterative testing, which is costly and time-
intensive.
The system of this disclosure will lead to a cockpit controls design that is
closer to
the pilot's ideal in a shorter time (perhaps a matter of hours or days as
opposed to
months or even years) and at lower cost.
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