Simulator Evaluation System (SIMES)

Overview

SAIC's Simulator Evaluation System (SIMES) is a portable, comprehensive instrumentation system used for simulation acceptance testing; simulator fidelity testing, debugging, and subsystem testing; and simulator sickness studies. SIMES is designed to assist procuring agencies in the test, validation, support, and update of simulators. The SIMES system is modular by design, therefore any combination of testing capabilities can be purchased. Other related SAIC products include the Integrated Data Evaluation and Analysis System (IDEAS) for advanced data analysis.

Applications

SIMES tests statically and dynamically the primary cueing systems of a simulator, such as visual, motion, control loading, and cockpit instruments. In addition, it has the provisions for aural cueing, cockpit environment and biomedical system instrumentation. Time delay and frequency response tests can be performed on each subsystem independently or through end-to-end tests of the entire system. With slight modification to the host software, SIMES can also be used to test the math model of the vehicle by overriding input and state variables in the model.

Features

SIMES has the ability to measure the output of all major cueing systems of a simulator. Standard inputs include control loading force and position, motion acceleration and rate, visual update rate and accuracy, cockpit instruments update rate and accuracy. In addition, simultaneous measurements can be made on simulator inputs and outputs to measure bandwidth and latency. For instance, the control loading and visual systems can be instrumented at the same time to measure end-to-end latency. SIMES provides preprogrammed tests and user defined test procedures. SIMES makes it fast and easy to define test procedures in the lab or in the field and easily incorporate them. Preprogrammed tests include:

• Visual Tests - Time and Frequency Response, Throughput Delay, Update Rate
• Motion Tests - Time and Frequency Response, Vibration Power Spectrum, Accuracy, Smoothness, Crosscoupling
• Control Loader - Force vs. Displacement, Push/Pull and Release
• Flight Instruments - Time and Frequency Response

Benefits

SIMES has the provisions for simultaneous non-intrusive reflected memory interface(s) to the simulation Host computer(s) and to any I/O computer(s). This gives the test engineer access to all sensors already incorporated in a simulator. Equally important, especially for acceptance testing, SIMES has its own sensors for instrumentation of the simulator cueing systems. Finally, SIMES is portable, allowing it to be moved from site to site with the test team.

Technical Specifications