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In the design of satellite systems, it is essential to control the satellite’s position for various reasons, either to have correct communication with a ground station or to make connections with other satellites. In the same way, the positioning of a satellite poses a significant challenge since its behavior is non-linear; due to these issues, several test benches have been developed for the satellite’s position problem. In this review, there will be a journey from the rise of the space age to the latest advances in technology for emulating the satellite’s dynamics.

Modern fly-by-wire (FBW) aircraft demand high-fidelity simulation systems for research and training, yet existing force-sensing solutions are often prohibitively expensive. This study presents the design, development, and validation of a low-cost, reconfigurable force-sensing sidestick. The system utilizes four strain-gauge load cells to capture pure pilot force inputs, integrated with a 6-DoF non-linear flight model. To evaluate its performance, a pitch-angle tracking task was conducted with 16 participants (pilots and non-pilots). Objective metrics revealed that the control strategy was a primary determinant of performance. Participants employing a proactive feedforward control strategy exhibited roughly an order of magnitude lower tracking-error variance than those relying on reactive corrections. Subjective assessments using the Cooper-Harper scale and NASA-TLX corroborated the objective data, confirming the sidestick’s ability to differentiate control techniques. This work demonstrates an open-source platform that makes high-fidelity FBW simulation accessible for academic research, pilot training, and human factors analysis at a fraction of the cost of commercial systems.

This study addresses the pose estimation problem of an aircraft runway using visual observations in a landing approach scenario. The authors utilised the fact that the geodetic coordinates of most runways are known precisely with highly visible markers. Thus, the runway observations can increase the level of situational awareness during the landing approach, providing additional redundancy of navigation and less reliance on global positioning system. A novel pose optimisation algorithm is proposed utilising unit dual quaternion for the runway corner observations obtained from a monocular camera. The estimated runway pose is further fused with an inertial navigation system in an extended Kalman filter. An open-source flight simulator is used to collect and process the visual and flight dataset during the landing approach, demonstrating reliable runway pose estimates and the improved inertial navigation solution.

Visual-orientation learning of a tethered flying bee was investigated using a flight simulator and a novel protocol in which orientation preference toward trained visual targets was assessed in tests performed before and after appetitive conditioning. Either a blue or a green rectangle (conditioned stimulus, CS) was associated with 30% sucrose solution (unconditioned stimulus, US), whereas the other rectangle was not paired with US. Bees were tested in a closed-looped flight simulator 5 min after ten pairings of the US and CS. Conditioned bees were preferentially oriented to the CS after such training. This increase in preference for CS was maintained for 24 h, indicating the presence of long-term memory. Because the total orienting time was not altered by conditioning, conditioning did not enhance orientation activity itself but increased the relative time for orientation to CS. When 0.4 or 4 mM epinastine (an antagonist of octopamine receptors) was injected into the bee’s head 30 min prior to the experiment, both short- and long-term memory formation were significantly impaired, suggesting that octopamine, which is crucial for appetitive olfactory learning in insects, is also involved in visual orientation learning.

Maintaining and balancing an optimal level of workload is essential for completing the task productively. Fighter aircraft is one such example, where the pilot is loaded heavily both physically (due to G manoeuvering) and cognitively (handling multiple sensors, perceiving, processing and multi-tasking including communications and handling weapons) to fulfill the combat mission requirements. This cognitive demand needs to be analysed to understand the workload of fighter pilot. Objective of this study is to analyse dynamic workload of fighter pilots in a realistic high-fidelity flight simulator environment during different flying workload conditions. The various workload conditions are (a) normal visibility, (b) low visibility, (c) normal visibility with secondary task, and (d) low visibility with secondary task. Though, pilot’s flying performance score was good, the physiological measure like heart rate variability (HRV) features and subjective assessment (NASA-TLX) components are found to be statistically significant (p<0.05) between tasks. HRV features such as SD2, SDNN, VLF and total power are found to be significant at all task load conditions. The features LFnu and HFnu are able to differentiate the effect of low visibility and secondary cognitive task, which was imposed as increased task in this study. This result benefits to understand the pilot’s task and performance at each flying phase and their cognitive demands during dynamic workload using HRV, which could assist pilot’s training schedule in optimal way on simulators as well as in actual flight conditions.

With the increasing popularity of vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicles (VTOL UAVs), a new problem arises: pilot training. Most conventional pilot training simulators are designed for full-scale aircrafts, while most UAV simulators are just focused on conceptual testing and design validation. The X-Plane flight simulator was extended to include new functionalities such as complex wind dynamics, ground effect, and accurate real-time weather. A commercial HIL flight controller was coupled with a VTOL convertiplane UAV model to provide realistic flight control. A real flight case scenario was tested in simulation to show the importance of including an accurate wind model. The result is a complete simulation environment that has been successfully deployed for pilot training of the Marvin aircraft manufactured by FuVeX.

The use of virtual reality (VR) for flight simulation, particularly in the earliest stages of pilot training, is gaining attention in both research and industry. The use of the technology for this ab initio training requires suitable consideration of the risks of simulator sickness—risks that are heightened relative to conventional simulators. If simulator sickness results in the development of compensatory skills, or otherwise disrupts the training process, the benefits of the technology may be negated. Enabling the effective integration of VR within flight training requires that, to the extent that simulator sickness is an issue, practical mechanisms are developed to manage the occurrence without disrupting existing training structures. The primary objective of this research is, thus, to evaluate an intervention and a nuisance factor in relation to the reduction of simulator sickness, considering their practicality within existing flight training syllabi. The Total Severity (TS) of the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) was evaluated within a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent pre-test–post-test design, incorporating three groups: a prior flight experience nuisance factor group, a prior personal computer aviation training device (PCATD) exposure intervention group, and a control group with neither prior experience nor prior simulator exposure. The results indicated that the TS was significantly reduced for the prior flight experience nuisance factor (rrb = 0.375), but that the PCATD exposure intervention produced no such reduction (rrb = 0.016). The findings suggest that VR flight simulation is likely best used as a supplemental tool, introduced after initial airborne experience. Notwithstanding this finding, the relatively low median TS scores (<20) for all groups suggest that the technology may still be used with caution earlier in the training process. No other published research has examined this important effect in the context of the new VR situation.

A novel eVTOL aircraft simulator was developed for research and teaching purposes. The simulator integrated MATLAB/Simulink flight dynamics model with Alsim AL250 FNPT II flight simulator. Simplified version of the Neoptera’s eOpter eVTOL aircraft was used as a test case to verify the flight simulator. It was shown that the aircraft responded as expected by the pilot and that the traditional handling qualities metrics and VTOL requirements (MIL-F-83300, MIL-F-8785C, EASA-SC-VTOL-02) could be used along the flight simulator to assess aircraft being tested. Take-off showed an increase in climb rate as well as overshoot of the target altitude with higher RPM setting. Qualitative assessment of transition showed suitable stability and control feel for the eVTOL to be operated by a single pilot. Quantitative assessment of the longitudinal manoeuvring characteristics showed Level 2 SPPO handling qualities for the tested eVTOL aircraft, qualitative definition of which agreed with the pilot’s opinion. It was also shown that increasing initial velocity for the SPPO mode test increased the mode’s natural frequency, but almost did not affect the damping ratio, which is within the expectations.

This research aims to characterize extended reality flight trainers and to provide a detailed account of the sensors employed to collect data essential for qualitative task performance analysis, with a particular focus on gaze behavior within the extended reality environment. A comparative study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an extended reality environment relative to traditional flight simulators. Eight flight instructor candidates, advanced pilots with comparable flight-hour experience, were divided into four groups based on airplane or helicopter type and cockpit configuration (analog or digital). In the traditional simulator, fixation numbers, dwell time percentages, revisit numbers, and revisit time percentages were recorded, while in the extended reality environment, the following metrics were analyzed: fixation numbers and durations, saccade numbers and durations, smooth pursuits and durations, and number of blinks. These eye-tracking parameters were evaluated alongside flight performance metrics across all trials. Each scenario involved a takeoff and initial climb task within the traffic pattern of a fixed-wing aircraft. Despite the diversity of pilot groups, no statistically significant differences were observed in either flight performance or gaze behavior metrics between the two environments. Moreover, differences identified between certain pilot groups within one scenario were consistently observed in another, indicating the sensitivity of the proposed evaluation procedure. The enhanced realism and validated effectiveness are therefore crucial for establishing standards that support the formal adoption of extended reality technologies in pilot training programs. Integrating this digital space significantly enhances the overall training experience and provides a higher level of simulation fidelity for next-generation cadet training.

Currently, researches on the comfort of flight simulators primarily focus on the objective and rational comfort aspects of drivers’ physiology and psychology, neglecting the deeper subjective and perceptual comfort experiences of drivers. To better meet the holistic comfort needs of drivers, this paper introduces a concept of comfortable field design and proposes a comfortable field design model for flight simulators. Firstly, the model uses product morphology analysis to determine the morphological design elements of flight simulator representative samples, and uses principal component analysis and factor analysis to determine its representative imagery words. Secondly, utilizing quantitative class I theory, a psychological comfortable field evaluation method is devised, establishing a regression model and matching degree correlating flight simulator design elements with perceptual imagery word pairs. This approach facilitates a swift and precise determination of the direction for imagery design. Ergonomic data are used to construct a physiological expression of the comfortable field. Finally, taking a flight simulator as an example, the industrial design method and JACK are used for design practice and evaluation. The results show that the optimized flight simulator can effectively meet the comfortable field requirements of the drivers, which verifies the validity and feasibility of the model.