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| (Photo by motion-sim.cz) |
summer, although rainy day we went to visit a small Czech company. Although the establishment of the station we go to walk, ride a car that is about to change the simulator and to compare sensations of driving the real and the virtual. The company, which is in fact visit Elsaco – manufacturer of advanced driving simulators that cost more than some real car.
Elsaco was founded in 1990, but its first simulator created just three years ago. Today the company employs 20 people. All this, however, experts in their field, and the products that make getting to countries around the world. A few small areas of the building is covered with emerging simulators and writhe on the floor of the wiring harness – power, network, and interfaces to the connected computers that receive data from controllers and allows to modify the parameters of pneumatic actuators.
Each simulator is equipped with a sport seat belts, car steering wheel or the steering-wheel, pedals and a set of monitors or a good-sized TV screen. All of this is mounted on a steel frame with inserted because the sides of the cylinders. In the sizable hidden typical PC, and of course industrial controllers and motors, which are responsible for the movement of the simulator. This however is possible in almost any direction. The whole machine can rotate around its axis, tilted to one side, forward and back, or get into a vibration. The most important and the most guarded secret but it’s not the same mechanics, but created by the upstream developer Michael Gruncla algorithm that controls it all. He is responsible for ensuring that the experience of driving different vehicles as closely as possible to the real, though on special request can be freely weaken or strengthen.
for the player and for the racer
simulators are created primarily for amusement arcades. Therefore, we could try the real experience of driving in such films as: Dirt 2, Dirt 3, F1 2010, rFactor and Microsoft Flight Simulator, and even Polish Rally. Typically, entertainment centers, however, not the only customers of the Czech company. Machines also buy companies organizing various cultural events, hotels and clubs. Several units also went to professional racing drivers, and soon will also be used to train pilots. Of course, not professionals hone their skills on the popular video games, but on a much more professional software. Since his start, however, with tucked in the cabinet simulator PC, there is no problem with installing different kinds of other programs, and in his spare time, racers and pilots can relax by running a typical game. You can also join several simulators in the network via Wi-Fi and prosecution of zasiadaj?cymi colleagues in neighboring devices.
Speaking of PC, it is usually a fairly typical machine with a quad-core processor, 4GB of RAM and a graphics card AMD Radeon 69xx series. He says we Michal Gruncl most critical component is the latter – it must be efficient and allow support for multiple monitors. However, nothing stands in the way to the customer’s request to modify the computer’s components. The whole is based on the Windows operating system – Microsoft’s solution is selected as the games run on it at the least creates compatibility problems.
– setting a single simulation of the prepared elements takes only about three days, although the design and development of algorithms, it took more than two years – says Michal Gruncl – From the moment you place an order to send the kit client usually does not pass more than a week. We always have a few finished models in the basic configuration and if the client does not have any special requirements, we can send the package as early as tomorrow – says.
Special Order demanding customers
Although most commonly purchased
is one of the basic configuration of the simulator – with three monitors or 3D TV and a typical setting simulation parameters, there are clients with larger requirements. While the hardware configuration usually each answer, sometimes customers require changes to the software. It turns out that not everyone expects a realistic driving experience. For example, the Russians often ask about turning up the algorithm parameters, so that much more tugging, shaking and generally to experience driving were much more violent and more exciting, even at the expense of realism.
– Special orders require not only changes in the algorithm, but also to strengthen some connections that will have to withstand much greater loads – says Jaroslav Vondruška, production manager Elsaco.
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