Space Flight Motion Simulator for VR

Hi! After reading a lot of threads from this great site, I think I'm ready to start thinking about my own rig. I want to build a Space Flight motion sim to be used with a VR headset.

As this is going to be my first build, I think it's better to start with a simple and cheap 2dof, and maybe if everything works right I will explore other options (I'm sure having heave would be great for a flying sim!). I have some experience with electronics, arduino, programming and I have a homemade 3D printer (maybe I can use if for some parts of the rig..?).
As this is going to be mainly used for space (not atmospheric) flight, the idea is to pretend that the ship has an local-gravity generator that keeps you attached to the seat, and an "inertial compensator" so you only feel small movements on accelerations/decelerations (with a 2dof I could simulate of pitch, roll, surge and sway, am I right?). I found this at wookiepedia (sorry, can't post links yet):

"Inertial compensators were often dialed back from full power by experienced pilots (from 97 to 95 percent), giving them just enough inertia to feel how the ship was performing without negatively impacting their ability to pilot the ship."

About VR, I know there is the motion cancellation problem. I guess that I will begin attaching the tracker to the rig and make sure that only smooth movements are involved, although I'm sure that in the future, motion cancellation will be the solution. We'll see how things evolve!

So that's the idea. What do you think? I'm very excited about this project, and I hope to learn a lot from all the experts here

I will post some sketches of my ideas soon. By now, I have built a mini model with small RC servos to start playing with SimTools, and I'm waiting to have enough coins to download the Elite Dangerous plugin so I can test it with a space flying game!

Thank you!!

Hi @lluisgl7 welcome to XSimulator.net.

I look forward to seeing your model and of course your drawings for your design.

Lots of great people here and some awesome threads to read (as you mention).

Right now Elite Dangerous does not have a working plugin, the last few updates have broken it.

http://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/elite-dangerous-plugin.6108/page-13#post-100976

There is a Lunarflight sim and we do have a plugin for that (thanks to @SilentChill)

http://www.xsimulator.net/community...lugin-steam-vr-beta-version.8127/#post-101089


The best way to earn coins is to read threads and post more information in this thread. (Just don't spam threads for coins...that might get you banned).

Good luck on your build!

Thank you @Historiker and @noorbeast for your replies and tips. So sad to hear that of Elite's plugin, hope that it gets resolved soon. I will first try lunarflight or another flight sim then.
Here are some pics of my rc model, HOTAS included

nice work

That's some beautiful pics
Elite wookie in the seat

i made 3 dof system 2 years back

Ok so here is the first basic sketch of what I've got in mind:
In order to keep things as simple as possible, I decided to go the wood way, with playwood or similar for the parts that require to be strong and cheap DM for the rest.
On the other hand, I'm considering using an old ikea chair:

I'm not sure wether it's a good idea, but I like it because I could easily unscrew the arms and replace them with some custom ones made out of wood with support for the hotas.
Any thoughts? I'm all ears!
Thank you

Thanks @noorbeast, you're right. I will set it in a comfortable position when I build it, although I may make it adjustable.

So I could finally go to the scrapyard and got some wipers and a cardan axis for the universal joint:
I had never seen a wiper before, but I expected them to be bigger. These are from normal cars (not large passenger car or truck) but I hope that are enough for a first rig. After all, they won't have to move any monitor or steering wheel, and I do not weight much. But that's just my guess. What do you think?

don't forget to check if motors are ground isolated
http://www.xsimulator.net/community/faq/wiper-motor-mandatory-ground-isolation.25/

thanks @insanegr

Regarding the universal joint, I will bring the cardan axis somewhere to cut it and solder some plates. The left side will be attached to the chair, so I will cut the cardan as close to the u-joint as possible. I'm not sure about the right side length though, the one that will be attached to the lower board. A longer bar will result in a higher seat position, which would allow for a more comfortable legs position (not completely straight forward), but would place the motors further as well, which leads to longer rods. How does it affect the rig behaviour? Is there a general rule for this, or it's not that important? Thank you guys.

Thank you @noorbeast! Here are some sketches of the options that I'm considering:


All of them having the same rod angles. Which one achieves more motor effectiveness? Or, how is the rig affected by the height difference between the u-joint and the motors axes? Thanks guys

What did you experienced? You have build this "g-force" simulator aka centrifuge??

I've been soldering this weekend. I have prepared the PSU with some connectors, to make it easier to change or add components in the future.

Question: about the Monster Moto board, I've seen several builds using it that don't mount it as an arduino shield, soldering the pins with wires instead. Is there any reason for that? Or is just to don't have to solder all the pin strips? My intention was to go with the shield mode, to make the circuit more clean. Just wanted to make sure before I solder it. Thank you all

First you have to find a code which supports the shield mode. Second most of our users are using one Ard and at minimum 2 MMs - so why to stick one on the Ard and what to do with the second? many of us (me too) are using 4 or more MMs with only one Ard, so better to use bread boards and soldering should not be the hardest thing on earth