The University of British Columbia

This paper describes the design of a one-person hydraulic motion simulator with six degrees of freedom. An inverted, ceiling-mounted Stewart platform design enables the use of narrower hydraulic cylinders than required with floor-mounted designs, and significantly reduces hydraulic flow requirements and hence the cost. The paper details the platform geometry, shows the effectiveness of Newton's method in solving the direct kinematics, and describes a tested hydraulic system design. Issues of control and safety are also addressed. It is expected that this motion simulator will provide 9.8 m/s2, 400 deg;/s2 accelerations and 1 m/s, 30 deg;/s speeds to a 250 kg payload with 1 m, 45 deg; displacements from a nominal center. Preliminary experiments at low-pressure have been encouraging