Driving simulators -- a true cost saver: for countries where fuel costs are negligible, the case for driving simulators may not be immediately obvious, although operating real vehicles such as a tank or other armoured fighting vehicle will certainly be more expensive than using a simulator. (Training).

But drivers of military trucks, staff cars or all-terrain vehicles will be required to operate in urban areas as well as in less populated places, thus raising matters of safety and environmental pollution when training is required. Any vehicle driven by a novice is likely to require higher than average visits to maintenance and repair workshops, while fewer instructors would be needed to staff a simulator facility than to accompany student drivers on public roads.

Protecting the Environment

The German Army cites safety and environmental pollution as reasons for its decision to use driving simulators not only for tank drivers but also for those who will drive trucks. In a move designed to help decide the best solution, the German procurement agency, in 1997 ordered two different simulation systems from national companies. DaimlerChrysler/Dornier (now Eads) co-operated with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) to provide an all-embracing system, which included theoretical classroom training, computer-controlled learning programmes, simulator training and finally the use of real vehicles.

STN Atlas was the other supplier to the German Army and it drew on its experience in the production of bus, tram and car simulators for the civilian market. To provide challenging scenarios for the student drivers, the STN simulator includes provision for intelligent, interactive traffic with up to 40 vehicles and people visible simultaneously.

Similarly, the Eads Dornier simulator obliges trainees to react in a fully simulated environment as they drive on highways, overland and in cities at any time of day and in all weathers. The driver's cabin is inside a projection dome in the Eads system, while a six-degrees-of-freedom motion system conveys the real feel of the vehicle. KMW has developed a virtual reality visual database for tracked vehicle driving simulators and has also produced driver's station mock-ups, as well as adapting armoured vehicles for driver training.

To make life more bearable for the armoured fighting vehicle driving instructors, KMW developed an isolated suspension system that significantly reduces the noise and vibrations normally induced by the tracks. As a safety measure, the special cab is designed to enable the instructor to take control if necessary, while additional seating allows other students to observe the instruction and maximises the benefits of each lesson. To support users of its BMP-3 ICV, Kurganmashzavod developed a modified vehicle trainer similar to that of the KMW design, replacing the turret with an enlarged cab to accommodate an instructor and additional students.

Common Needs

Given the requirement to train civilian and military truck drivers to the same high standards, it is no surprise that a company such as Thales Training & Simulation (TT&S) should produce simulators for both markets. Having produced AFV driving simulators for a number of armies, TF&S recently introduced the Trust (Truck Simulator for Training), which draws on its years of expertise with state-of-the-art technologies. To achieve cost-effective training, the company has made maximum use of commercial off-the-shelf components. The Trust range includes a mobile version, which enables simulation to be taken where it is needed and moreover, in multi-training mode, up to eight simulators can be networked.

African Defence Systems (ADS), now 50 per cent owned by TT&S, is another source of driving simulators, having drawn on aircraft simulator technology to produce devices that can be adjusted to all levels of ability. The ADS driving simulators are designed to correct bad habits picked up by experienced drivers, as well as to provide basic training for students who may be semi-literate. Although originally developed for fleet operators and driver training institutions, the ADS range includes simulators for armoured vehicles that, if required, can be hooked up to a gunnery training simulator for crew training.

Like South Africa, the United States has long embraced the concept of using simulators to train civilian drivers, partly in response to the inability of education budgets to keep pace with escalating costs in driver training. It may come as a surprise to some that American schools should provide driver's education as part of their curriculum. To overcome budgetary problems the Volusia County School District turned to simulation. Working with the Raydon Corporation, it developed the `Virtual Driver' three-step learning process.

Beginning with a multimedia CD-based package, this progresses to an inexpensive driving simulator devised to develop the risk recognition and situational awareness skills of novice drivers. Finally, a full immersion trainer in which the student wears a head-mounted display provides more challenging and complex driving and hazardous situations. Raydon has developed ground combat training simulators for the US Army, Marine Corps and National Guard and is now marketing the Virtual Driver programme as a cost-effective solution to driver training needs.

Hyperion Technologies is another American company that has developed an interactive 3D driver training simulator, mainly for use in high school and private driver instruction. Called the Vection Novice Driver Trainer (NDT), this makes use of a Quantum3D visual computing system and features a 50 [degrees] field of view, mirror insets, force feedback controls and full instrumentation.

The PC-based NDT can make use of scenarios from a generic library or users may create their own with the HyperDrive simulation authoring suite. The commercial market accounts for the largest element of Hyperion's sales but the company has increased its efforts to address the needs of the defence sector.

As indeed has Green Dino Virtual Realities, which led a team in the development of the Intrasim Driver. Introduced last year, this is a PC-based low-cost intelligent training simulator that is claimed to be three times more effective than conventional driving lessons. This view is supported by instructors who have compared the performance of students trained on Intrasim with those who received the same lessons on the road.

The Advanced Mobile Operations Simulator (Amos II) was also developed with mainly civilian applications in mind, although it is particularly intended for police, ambulance or fire truck drivers. With an undistorted 225 [degrees] field of view, the Amos II can be networked with up to four units, and for international customers it can be supplied with a five-speed manual transmission and road markings appropriate to the customer country.

Systems Technology (STI) developed a novice driver simulator, which was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a low-cost, PC-based device. This experimental system showed that a simulator could be used to provide training in complex driving environments and quickly bring novices up to a standard comparable to that of experienced drivers.

STI went on to produce the STISIM range of driving simulators, some of which have been exported, including one for the Australian Army. Permitting fully interactive driving, STISIM also includes a provision for driver performance measurement. The DME Corporation has also produced driving simulators that have penetrated defence markets. The DME Advanced Road Trainer (Dart) initially developed to meet a requirement of the Bangladesh Army has since been the subject of orders from other military customers.

The Dart student station will simulate an off-road vehicle and multiple trainers can be linked to a central instructor station for classroom monitoring of students. The system makes use of 3D colour graphics depicting 120 [degrees] field of view, while a full motion platform adds to the level of realism. The modular nature of Dart facilitates its movement from place to place, enabling simulation to be taken where it is required.

In the DS-100, the Computer Graphics Systems Development Corporation (CGSD) has produced a driving simulator that incorporates a number of innovative features aimed at driving down costs without compromising fidelity. This makes use of a head mounted display to support a total field of view of more than 180 [degrees] as the driver moves his head from right to left. This is claimed to be a less expensive solution than conventional simulators that make use of projection displays.

Reality by Design (RBD) has also contributed to the development of affordable driving simulators by combining Cots products with custom integrated system solutions. This has led to a reconfigurable driving simulator, which although low-cost is also a highly realistic dynamics model.

Dedicated Military Simulators

Innovation and a broad approach to the subject have placed Faac as a world leader in fully interactive driver training. The production of CBT, motion and fixed-based simulators provided the company with the expertise that helped it win a contract to supply 36 simulators for the new US Marine Corps' MTVR tactical truck.

Working with a number of military educational centres, Faac teamed with Metters to create a comprehensive but very cost-effective electronic training environment. The full-motion simulators are capable of replicating rough off-road terrain as well as urban environment and delivery of the simulator ahead of the new eight-ton trucks enabled instructors to get ready to train the troops, eGAD! Software played a major role in Faac's success by the supply of console-based technologies and it receives royalties on each simulator sold.

Driver trainers are a part of the wide simulation expertise built up by Lockheed Martin Information Systems and this translates easily across to the new Close Combat Tactical Trainer (CCTT), which places vehicle crews into a variety of battlefield environments. CCTT is the US Army's first operational distributed interactive simulation (Dis) system designed to complement costly live training before exercising in the field.

The examples of American expertise in driver training are more than can be included in this review but it would be wrong to suggest that Europe is lagging in this field. Sintro, for example, (now part of the Ruag group) has much experience in the production of driver trainers replicating vehicles as diverse as the Mowag Piranha 8 X 8 and the M-109 SP howitzer. Sintro's trainers are of modular design, while their open technology architecture enables them to be tailored to meet specific requirements, at the same time making provision for later upgrades.

The Oerlikon Contraves Advanced Driving and Manoeuvring Simulator (Adams) is a new truck driving simulator aimed at both military and civilian markets. Adopted by the Swiss Army under the Fatran Project, the Adams will be required to provide the best quality training regardless of the short time available. A typical Adams driving school consists of one instructor and five simulators and the company aims to develop it into a family of trainers covering various vehicle types.

Spreading the Costs

Many universities and motor manufacturers make use of driving simulators for research and development purposes and much of the resultant technology can read across directly to training applications. However, both civil and military users are becoming more demanding in matters of realism and there is no place for video game standards today.

But in an age where defence budgets are encouraging suppliers to bear capital costs, some countries are following the private finance initiative (PFI) path. The UK's Defence Procurement Agency is expected to award a contract to one of three consortia bidding to provide the Armoured Vehicles Training Service. This is expected to be worth some $1.03 billion over a 30-year period and will require the winner to provide basic driving and gunnery skills to British Army AFV crews.