The upgrade of an advanced driving simulator: vehicle, visuals, sound and software stack

Fourty years after Daimler-Benz came up with vehicle dome integrated to a 6-DOF hexapod motion system, driving simulation has become a well established tool used in a number of fields, including fundamental research, vehicle development and training. However, time has also shown that simulators age eventually reaching their end of life. This has happened to the University of Leeds Driving Simulator, put together in 2006 by a small academic team. Aiming to build a flexible tool with up-to-date technology that supports industry standards and makes us more productive while creating the best immersive experience, we have upgraded our driving simulator. Everything from the motion platform up was renewed, including the interface vehicle, the projection system, the enclosure and the video capture system. In addition, we wrote a whole new software stack, Simulator5, that covers simulation, 3D scenery and scenario generation. In this paper we present its design, and discuss the technical decisions taken during this endeavour, with the hope that it can help similarly small-sized teams.