StControl: Userinterface (GUI) module for research driving simulators running on software from ST Software CONTENTS

Transcription

1 Version StControl: Userinterface (GUI) module for research driving simulators running on software from ST Software CONTENTS 1 General System configuration Overview of the GUI Separate windows Popup menus Main window System status window Messages window Vehicle position window Dashboard window Cabin signals windows Main menu Control submenu Settings submenu...11 Modules settings...11 Control by game set...12 DirectX Soundgeneration...13 FTP settings...13 Mirror settings...14 Sound settings Windows submenu Info submenu Requirements and dependencies...17 ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 1

2 1 General For research simulators ST Software supplies a general purpose MS Windows based GUI that is flexible and focused on full control by the user and on presentation of driving parameters. The GUI gives a broad overview of the functionality of the simulator software. StControl includes the following functions: It controls all Ethernet communication between the different computers in the local network. The systems may be remotely started, stopped, paused or shut down from the GUI. It provides an interface to the operator to manage all supervisory functions of the simulator. It also enables entering the name of a data file to store binary performance data. It offers the user the possibility to drive the simulator with a gaming steering set. The interface is standard configured for the ACT LABS Force RS gaming set, which includes clutch, brake, gas pedals and gear shift. This allows for easy testing and debugging of experiments. Other game sets, like the Logitech Wingman, both with or without force feedback can be used as well. It offers the user facilities for generation and tuning of engine sound, wind- and tire/road contact sounds, starter engine, indicator sounds and recorded human speech messages. Again, the user can test an experiment from the desktop before it is ported to a larger simulation system. The user configures the system with a configuration file. This describes the computers and functions that are used in the simulator system. For example, the user can add as many renderers as desired, or add a computer to the system that controls a moving base system. 2 System configuration The system uses a resource file, named modules.def, for system configuration. This file should be located in the same folder as the program executable. Modules.def consists of a description of all modules that are controlled by StControl. Each system should be described on a separate line, as follows: <ethernet address SystemName SystemType> SystemName is the name of the system as it appears in the GUI of StControl. SystemType can be any of the following: ControlType The StControl system that controls the other computers that are connected to the simulator system. There must be one and only one line included with a system of this type TrafficType The computer that runs the traffic and scenario generation module (StTraffic). In order for the system at a whole to operate, there must be one and only one line included with a system of this type VehicleType The computer that sends the data on the vehicle cabin. At this moment there can be at most one computer of VehicleType. If you don t use such a system, you may drive using a game set (steering wheel and pedals). In the future more than one vehicle cabins may be connected to the system. Signals such as steeringwheel angle, accelerator position etc, are send from this computer to StTraffic. StTraffic then feeds this data into a vehicle model and the resulting position updates are integrated in the road network geometry that runs on StTraffic. By this mechanism the simulator vehicle is integrated in the traffic system. StTraffic then sends out all positions of traffic participants to the renderers for display and it sends the vehicle data to StControl for display on the GUI. ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 2

3 RenderType A computer that does the rendering of images. It receives its data from StTraffic via a defined protocol. OtherType Any other type of subsystem that must be controlled by StControl, for example a computer that drives a moving base system. As an example, the following configuration specifies that the system will use a vehicle cabin, a traffic system and scenario generation computer, and three renderers, together with the names that are used in the user interface. Also the name and ethernet address of the control computer (StControl itself) must be included control ControlType TrafficPC TrafficType VehicleCabin VehicleType RenderLeft RenderType RenderMiddle RenderType RenderRight RenderType A top view renderer of the scene in which e.g. you observe the car, can be added by another line: RenderTop RenderType All subsystems defined in modules.def are displayed on the System status panel. These subsystems, except systems of ControlType and TrafficType, may be deselected via <Settings> <Modules> on the main menu. All selected systems will log on to StControl as soon as <Control> <Start Simulator> is pressed. From this moment on the simulator system will startup using all selected subsystems. From this point on systems cannot be deselected anymore. If all selected systems have logged on (established a TCP connection) to StControl the Systems ready led becomes green, and an FTP connection is established with StTraffic. From then on the user may select a script file and start a simulation. The status and frame rate of all systems, including the ones that have been deselected, is displayed in the 'System status' panel. ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 3

4 3 Overview of the GUI Fig 1 shows the user interface: Fig. 1. Screenshot of the GUI. 3.1 Separate windows The user interface consists of a number of separate windows. On the top is the main window containing the main menu, panels for file selection and for control of the simulation. The system status window shows information on all subsystems as defined in the resource file modules.def. The Messages window shows feedback to the operator of system messages The vehicle position window shows information about the position of the simulator vehicle The dashboard window shows dashboard information of the vehicle cabin Up to 6 different vehicle cabin signals can be displayed on separate windows Each of these windows, except the main window, can be switched off. Via the main menu <Windows> these windows can be switched on again. All windows can be minimized to the taskbar. ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 4

5 3.2 Popup menus All windows can be repositioned, and all windows, except the main window, have a popup menu (press right mouse button) to enable the popup menu. One of the items in the popup menu is <Standard position> that return the window to its default position after it has been repositioned. The messages window and the Cabin signal windows may also be resized by the user. Pressing <Standard position> brings back the size to the original size and position for these windows. Furthermore, for the Cabin signal windows the variables and the range of the Y- axis can be set with the popup menu. At this moment 15 different types of variables can be selected for continuous display, such as vehicle speed, brake pedal position etc. Fig. 2 shows what happens if you press the right mouse button while you hover over one of the Cabin signal windows. Fig. 2. Popup menu for the cabin signal windows. 3.3 Main window Figure 3 shows a snapshot of the main window. Fig. 3. Main window The main menu is at the top. This will be discussed in a separate paragraph. The main window establishes an FTP connection with the StTraffic computer. The Directory panel is filled with folders and script file names on the StTraffic computer, as soon as the simulator has been started via <Control> <Start Simulator>. A readonly text panel (meaning that you cannot set this field by hand) shows the current directory on the StTraffic ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 5

6 computer, in this case /home/simulat/drive. If you single-click on a folder the all subfolders are displayed and the selected folder becomes the current directory. The Script panel shows an overview of all script files in the current directory on the StTraffic computer. These are files with the extention.scn. A readonly text panel shows the currently selected script filename. A filename is selected by single-clicking on the filename. The Simulation control panel allows you to control the selected simulation. The system read led indicates whether the system is ready to select and run simulations. If a script file has been selected, the simulation will start if you press the Start Simulation button. In that case the following happens: - All folders are grayed out in the Directory panel, meaning that you cannot select a different folder. - All script filenames are grayed out in the Script panel, meaning that you cannot select a different script. - The selected script symbol changes from a closed book to an open book - The Pause Simulation button is pressed by the system, indicating that the simulator system is in pause mode. The system status window shows the status Paused for all selected systems. - A list of scenarios is displayed in the scenarios panel. - The digital clock above the scenarios panel starts to run. If you now press the Pause Simulation button, the simulation will start. The Start Scenario button will start a scenario in the scenarios panel if a scenario has been selected and the scenario has the flag Scen[].Commanded = True as a start condition in the scenario script. The Scenarios panel shows a list of all scenarios in the selected script file that have been marked by the user. These are scenarios that have the Scen[].Description value set to a text string. This text string is displayed in the Scenarios panel. A scenario can be selected by single clicking the name of a scenario. After that pressing the button Start Scenario will start the scenario if the scenario has the flag Scen[].Commanded = True as a start condition in the scenario script. Here s an example of a scenario that is - Displayed in the list - Allowed to be activated via the user interface. Define Scen[80] { Var { a; } Start { When ( Scen[80].Commanded = True or StartScen25 = True ); Scen[].Description := "Uitvoegen met file aan einde uitvoegstrook"; If ( Scen[].Commanded = True ) { Scen[].TerminateOnCommand := False; Proc( SignalHandler, CommandTerminateScenario ); a := ResetFlags(); StartScen25 := True; } Scen[].TerminateOnCommand := True; } End { When ( StartScen25 = False ); } } Explanation: Define Scen[number] starts the definition of a scenario description. At runtime this scenario can be activated in two ways: It starts to be active when the flag Commanded of this scenario becomes true (which is the case if the scenario is selected in the GUI) or if a user defined flag named StartScen25 is set to True by some other condition in the script file. In general any logical condition the user wishes to define here can start the scenario execution, which allows tremendous flexibility. ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 6

7 The statement Scen[].Description := "Uitvoegen met file aan einde uitvoegstrook"; gives a description string of the scenario for the list in the GUI: if there s a statement like (Scen[number].Description :=..) then this text string is forwarded to the GUI for inclusion in the list. The Scenario Specification Language will be discussed elsewhere. While the system is ready (indicated by the green led), the user may enter a datafile name in the Data filename text field. This datafile name is then send to the StTraffic computer. If you the start a simulation in which you have specified that binary data is sampled and stored, this data filename can be used to store the binary data. This is handled in script via the script SubjectIdent() system function, that can be applied as follows String { Fname; } FName := SubjectIdent(); // get the subjectident as send from the GUI Proc( OpenData, FName, "testdrive" ); // open binary file and store a string to the header 3.4 System status window Fig. 4 shows a snapshot of the system status window. Fig. 4. System status window. All systems specified in the resource file modules.def are listed. A led in front of the system name indicates whether the system is operational and ready. The led turns into green if the status of the subsystem is either Running or Paused. Status may have any of the following values: None Ready Okay Loading Loaded Running StandBy Paused Error Finish Starting Stopping Stopped ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 7

8 Collision Logon Shutdown Exit Restart Reboot Reset Alive Illegal The FrameRate field shows the number of frames per second. 3.5 Messages window Fig. 5 shows a snapshot of the Messages window. Fig. 5 Messages window In this window all kinds of system messages and error messages are displayed. You can scroll through the messages with the vertical scrollbar. 3.6 Vehicle position window Fig. 6 shows a snapshot from the Vehicle position window. Fig. 6. Vehicle position window ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 8

9 This window shows information on the vehicle position of the simulator vehicle. Path is the logical PathId in the road network database. A PathId can be considered as a road number, together with a direction. If Part 16 goes from intersection a to intersection b, then path 17 goes the opposite direction. The logical road database geometry is discussed elsewhere. A Path consists of a sequence of Segments. A segment can be either straight or curved. Each segment has a unique Id, and Segment shows the SegmentId of the segment the vehicle is currently on. DTI is the distance in meters to the next intersection (or connectionnode) along the current path. If the simulator vehicle is on the intersection DTI has a negative number (distance from the start of the intersection plane). Lateral pos is the distance from the right side of the vehicle to the right road edge in meters. If the vehicle is off the road, then Lateral pos has a negative number. THW is the time headway in seconds to the first lead vehicle in the same lane as the simulator vehicle. THW is computed as the bumper to bumper distance divided by the vehicle speed of the simulator vehicle in m/s. TTI is the Time To Intersection in seconds. It is computed as the DTI divided by vehicle speed in m/s. TTI of Self is the TTI of the simulator vehicle. TTI of Left is the TTI of the first traffic participant approaching the next intersection from the road from left. TTI of Right is the TTI of the first traffic participant approaching the next intersection from the road from right. TTI of Opposite is the TTI of the first traffic participant approaching the next intersection from the road from the opposite direction. 3.7 Dashboard window Fig. 7 shows a snapshot from the Dashboard window. Fig. 7. Dashboard window This window gives an overview of the current position of the actuators of the vehicle cabin (or game set). Clutch, Brake and Accelerator pedals express the percentage pressed. Gear gives the gearshift position. The engine RPM (revolutions per minute x 1000) is shown on a meter. Also vehicle speed in kilometers per hour is shown on a meter. Contact has one of three possible values: Off, On (engine has been started) and Starter (starter engine is on: starter key is maximally rotated). Vehicle lights (Lighting) can be either off, on or Spotlight (maximum light). Steering wheel angle is limited in the interface to + or 135 degrees. Handbrake can be either on of off. The indicator can be activated to left or to right, in which case the green fields light up, or off. ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 9

10 3.8 Cabin signals windows Fig. 8 shows a snapshot from 6 cabin signals windows. Fig. 8. Cabin signal windows These windows give a 60 seconds moving time history of selected cabin signals. The X-axis gives the time in seconds. The Y-axis can be configured by the user. 4 Main menu The Main menu bar gives access to the following functions submenus: Control Settings Windows Info 4.1 Control submenu The control submenu contains functions for starting and stopping the simulator. Fig. 9 shows the Control submenu. Fig. 9. Submenu Control ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 10

11 This contains the following functions: Start Simulator Starts the simulator by establishing contact with all selected systems Stop Simulator Stop the current simulation and terminate all connected systems. The computers on which the subsystems run are not switched off. Programs may startup autonomously again. Shutdown Stop the current simulation and terminate all connected systems. The computers on which the subsystems run are switched off. Systems off for maintenance Stop the current simulation and terminate all connected systems. The computers on which the subsystems run are not switched off. Programs will not startup autonomously again. 4.2 Settings submenu This submenu contains a number of functions that create forms on which settings can be changed by the user. Fig. 10 shows the Settings submenu. Fig. 10. Settings submenu Modules settings Fig. 11 shows the form for changing the modules settings. Fig. 11. Modules settings form Subsystems of type ControlType and TrafficType cannot be deselected. All other subsystems that are specified in the resource file modules.def can be deselected or selected by clicking the respective checkbox. If the user wants to drive the simulator using a game set then Game set control must be checked, and any other subsystem of type VehicleType must be unchecked, since both use the same data communication port. ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 11

12 Control by game set If Game set control is checked the system assumes that a game set (steering wheel and pedals) is used. Various types of game sets can be used. A game set must be connected via a USB port. The system detect whether a force feedback set is used or a non-force feedback set. It the game set supports force feedback then force feedback is applied. Always make sure that the game set driver is configured with Operate Pedals Separately NOT selected. In the resourcefile gamecontrol.def the buttons can be assigned to a function. Each line contains a function name followed by a number that corresponds to the button number of the game set, for example: Gear 3 1 This indicates that the third gear is assigned to BUTTON 1 of the game set. The following configuration should be used for the ACT-LABS game set: Gear3 1 Gear4 2 HeadLight 3 FlashLight 4 IndicatorLeft 5 Gear1 6 Gear2 7 IndicatorRight 8 Starter 9 GearReverse 11 HandBrake 12 For the logitech Wingman and most other game sets the following configuration is recommended: IndicatorLeft 1 IndicatorRight 2 Starter 4 HandBrake 6 HeadLight 3 Gear2 5 Since most devices, except the ACT-LABS, don t use gear shifter and clutch pedal, you should drive the vehicle in automatic mode. This can be accomplished as follows: in the script (in StTraffic) add the following line in the initialization scenario: Proc( GearMode, 2 ); This will allow you to drive in automatic mode without using the gear shifter and clutch pedal. The following keywords can be used in gamecontrol.def : Starter Starter engine (press for switching on, press again for starting (ignition), press again for setting into on mode) Clutch Clutch pedal pressed Handbrake Handbrake pulled IndicatorLeft Direction indicator to left on IndicatorRight Direction indicator to right on Gear1 Switch to first gear Gear2 Switch to second gear ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 12

13 Gear3 Gear4 GearUp GearDown GearReverse HeadLight FlashLight Switch to third gear Switch to fourth gear Switch to next higher gear Switch to next lower gear Switch to reverse gear Toggle headlights on/off Switch Headlight on (as long as button is pressed) DirectX Soundgeneration If DirectX sound is checked, then all vehicle sound generation is done by StControl via DirectX sound generation. Engine-, wind- and tire-road contact sounds are mixed with speech messages (.wav files) that are send by StTraffic to StControl. Otherwise it is assumed that another system does the sound generation of the vehicle. In all cases speech messages are played by StControl. This works as follows: From script that runs on StTraffic, a numeric speech message id is send to StControl. StControl the plays this message. For example, in script: Var { MessageId; Priority; }. MessageId := 10020; Priority := 2;. Proc( ScheduleIsdMessage, MessageId, Priority, 0 ); In that case, StTraffic sends the MessageId to StrControl, and StControl then checks if wav is present, and if it is, it will play this wav file. Pressing the button ResetCabin will reset the vehicle cabin it this is supported by the receiving vehicle cabin interface software. FTP settings Fig. 12 shows the form for changing the FTP settings for communication with StTraffic. Fig. 12. FTP settings form The settings used by this form are stored in the resource file ftpdetails.def. Host is the ethernet address of the Host, which is StTraffic. If you use another address than the default you must change this address by checking the Store setting checkbox. ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 13

14 UserId is the username by which StControl logs in on the StTraffic PC. Normally this is simulat. Password is the password used when logging in. These settings must be changed, if necessary, before the simulator is started by pressing <Control><StartSimulator> Mirror settings Fig. 13 shows the form for changing the mirror settings for the renders if these support the data communication protocol for mirror adjustment. Fig. 13. Form for changing the Mirror settings on the renderers. The mirror settings are read by the form from two resource files: spiegel.def and spiegelsys.def. The mirror system is based on three channels for rendering: the right mirror is for the mirror at the right side of the vehicle, the center mirror is for the in-vehicle rearview mirror, while the left mirror reflects the outside mirror left of the driver. Horizontal reflects the horizontal position of the upper left corner of he respective mirror as a percentage of the horizontal field of view, measured from the left side of the display: for example, 50 means halfway the screen. Vertical reflects the vertical position of the upper left corner of he respective mirror as a percentage of the vertical field of view, measured from the top of the display. ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 14

15 Sound settings Fig. 14 shows the form for changing the sound settings if DirectX sound has been selected on the Modules settings form. Fig. 14. Form for changing the sound settings of DirectX via StControl. All settings can be changed while driving. If you want to change the current settings as default, then the button Store must be pressed, otherwise press the button Don t store. Sound settings are read by the form from the resource file sound.def. This form enables the user to choose an engine sound from a set of different engine sounds. The names of the engine sound.wav files are read from the resource file enginesounds.def. The user must make sure that the listed.wav files are present in the same folder as the executable program. Engine-, roadcontact-, wind- and voice (speech message) volume can be adjusted according to the user s preference. Rpm frequency factor changes the frequency of the engine sound sample as a function of incoming RPM values. By this the engine sound can be made lower or higher in pitch. 4.3 Windows submenu This submenu contains buttons by which windows are re-activated. Fig. 15 shows the Windows submenu. Fig. 15. Windows submenu This submenu allows the user to enable the forms that are listed. ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 15

16 4.4 Info submenu This contains version information of the program. Fig. 16 shows the Info submenu. Fig. 16. Info submenu If Program Info is pressed, a form is displayed with information on version of the program and data of compilation, see Fig. 17. Fig. 17 Program Info form. ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 16

17 5 Requirements and dependencies In order for the program to function properly, the following must apply: Recommended operating system Windows2000 monitor settings resolution: 1280 x 1024 signsize: Large lettertypes (120 dpi) Software installations DirectX: Libraries: Resourcefile: IP address version 8.0 or higher vcl50.bpl vclx50.bpl borlndmm.dll cc3250.dll cc3250mt.dll enginesounds.def ftpdetails.def modules.def sound.def spiegel.def spiegelsys.def (recommended) all resourcefiles must be installed in the same directory as the executable all libraries must be installed in the same directory as the executable or in \Winnt\system32 Hardware sufficient memory, preferably > 512 MB ethernet card 10/100 MB soundcard In case of problems try switching hardware acceleration off on the graphics board. ST software B.V. Kromme Riet 23, 9746 PV, Groningen, The Netherlands 17