Auto-Tuning parameters of motion cueing algorithms for high performance driving simulator based on Kuka Robocoaster

Abstract

Driving simulators have been utilized to test and evaluate products and services for a long time. Their complexity and price range from extremely simple low-cost simulators with a fixed base to very complex high-end and pricey six-degree-of-freedom simulators with the XY table. The recent novel technique that uses an industrial robot - KUKA Robocoaster - as an interactive motion simulator platform, allowing for a highly flexible workspace as well as significantly lower prices due to mass production of the fundamental mechanics. In the constrained workspace of driving simulators, motion cueing algorithms (MCAs) are commonly employed to merge the tilt gravity and translational acceleration components for simulating the linear acceleration in the real vehicle. However, there is a few MCAs developed for the motion platform, almost MCAs were implemented for the standard six-degree-of-freedom simulators in the Cartesian coordinate. The classical MCA in the cylindrical coordinate (ClCy) MCA was first developed for the novel motion platform to take advantage of enormous rotational motion to simulate lateral acceleration while compensating for the bothersome longitudinal acceleration (due to centrifugal acceleration appearing in the rotational motion) with a proper pitch tilted angle. The process of tuning MCAs for the novel motion platform is time-consuming due to both trial and error method and the disturbing motion cues generated by rotational motion, thus it needs the involvement of experts. Although there are several auto-tuning approaches for classical, optimal, and model-predictive control MCA based on fuzzy control theory or genetic optimization method, the methods were purely applied for Cartersian coordinate without taking the bothersome longitudinal acceleration into account. Therefore, this paper firstly presents the process of integrating MCAs in the novel motion platform utilizing rotational motion for simulating lateral acceleration. For the case, besides the ClCy algorithm, the classical algorithm developed for the standart six-degree-of-freedom simulators was a sample implementation due to its popular and familiar characteristics. Secondly, the proposal of the use of the mean-variance mapping optimization (MVMO) for auto-tuning parameters of the two algorithms for reducing both rotational false cues in roll and pitch channel, and longitudinal acceleration as well as washout effect. The simulation results prove that 1) The classical and other MCAs can be applied in the novel motion platform with the proposed motion conversion; 2) both algorithms with auto-tuned parameters have high performance in exploiting effectively the workspace of the motion platform, producing no false cues of angular velocity, conpensating the disturbed longitudinal acceleration, and pulling the motion platform to the initial position after the simulation task; 3) The auto-tuning method is so transparent that can manipulates the specific simulated quantities according to the tuning goals.