NLR takes delivery of visual system with Barco SIM6 projectors for Tower Research Simulator
Kuurne, Belgium – June 25, 2002 – At its premises in the Anthony Fokker Business Park near Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, on 13 June 2002, the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory, NLR, has taken delivery of a Visual System for the NLR Tower Research Simulator (TRS) by signing a Certificate of Acceptance. The system was symbolically transferred by Mr. H. Koemeester, Director of the Siemens Division Traffic, Transport and Special Projects, handing the remote controls of the BARCO high-resolution projectors to Mr. F. Holwerda, General Director of NLR.
The system has been designed and built by a consortium consisting of Siemens Nederland N.V. for project management and systems integration, BARCO of Belgium for the LCD projection system and projection screens, and SGI Nederland, supported by SGI professional services UK, for the Image Generation hardware/software (Onyx2IR3/Vizage) and the visual database of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.The installation of the visual system forms the culmination of the development of NLR's Tower Research Simulator (TRS), a semi-operational highly realistic real-time infrastructure for airport research. The TRS, a modular system, is tailored for cost-effective and reliable R & D for a variety of customers. Using the TRS, NLR supports both fundamental research with a human-in-the-loop and pre-operational research for high-density airports such as Amsterdam Airport Schiphol with the newly constructed fifth runway. Various R & D projects have already been conducted for validation studies of Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems, for customers including Air Traffic Control the Netherlands, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, EUROCONTROL and the European Union.
The visual system makes use of three high-performance LCD Projectors (BARCO SIM6/HB). The projection screen has a diameter of 11 m and a height of 4 m, at present supporting a horizontal Field-of-View (FoV) of 135° and a vertical FoV of 40°. A highly detailed three-dimensional database of Schiphol is implemented. Realistic three-dimensional terrain and aeronautical information, including switchable aeronautical lights, covers an inner area of 10 by 10 km². The total 'playing field' measures 40 by 40 km². The visual system is capable of providing out-of-the-window views both from a static viewpoint in the Air Traffic Control Tower and from a simultaneously moving viewpoint in a selected airframe. A huge variety of weather effects like precipitation and visibility are available, apart from dedicated winter and night databases. The system also incorporates an astronomical table enabling realistic sun, moon and star positions to be applied depending upon the time, season and geographical position on the Earth.
By mid-2003 the TRS including its visual theatre will be moved to a dedicated building at NLR Amsterdam for close integration with inter alia the NLR ATC Research Simulator (NARSIM) and the National Simulation Facility (NSF).
Barco’s SIM 6 WARP option
By predistorting the image inside the BarcoReality SIM6 projectors, the WARP option enables fixed-matrix projectors to achieve a correct geometry on curved screens.
Using advanced proprietary bi-cubic interpolation algorithms for smooth pictures with a maximum of detail is crucial for this application, where airplanes need to be seen and identified over large distances.
Barco Simulation Products
Barco Simulation Products develops high-performance visual display products and solutions for Simulators, Virtual and Enhanced Reality and Edutainment & Entertainment applications. Active on a worldwide scale - with main offices in Xenia (Ohio, US) and Kuurne (Belgium) and with sales & support offices in Europe, North & South America, Asia and the Middle East - Barco Simulation Products has gained an international reputation for its customer-driven application engineering and projection system optimization know-how. Drawing upon its expertise in projection technologies, color calibration, opto-electronics and mechanics, Barco Simulation Products and its partners provide the solution to meet any Simulation, V&AR and Edutainment & Entertainment requirement.
