The paraglider simulator has been entirely developed in the IIT in collaboration with Albatros, an experienced paraglider trainer and sport company. The paraglider simulator can be used in several scenarios:

Training

Before a real launch it is necessary a previous training. Generally a basic course and instructions are given to the amateurs. Using the paraglider simulator the efficiency of the training is higher, providing better understanding of the controls and the paraglider response. Improving the training gives also a higher security level in real flights.

Amusement

The paraglider simulator can be used just for fun. For people without time or just people who are not very confident with the real paraglider.

Opportunity

The paraglider simulator has been used successfully with people with muscular dystrophy who cannot use a real paraglider. It can be used in other similar scenarios with people who  is not able to flight in a real paraglider due to any physical limitation.

To recreate the virtual scenario a 3d engine has been developed from scratch using state-of-the-art technologies in virtual reality. This engine manages large land scenarios using real-time mesh subdivision. This technique allows to render highly detailed landscapes without losing performance. The rendering of scenario objects it's made using level-of-detail, providing a rich representation of real environments. Physical atmosphere models have been use to calculate the sky color and light scattering effects. Using this system, the paraglider simulator is able to render realistic environments.

A paraglider dynamic model has been developed to simulate accurately the real paraglider behaviour. For the parameter adjustment, the collaboration of Albatros has been very important, contributing with their vast experience.

To carry out a fully immersion, real paraglider elements have been used for the human interface. That includes a real harness and handles. The position of the control handles is read by the simulation computer using two high precision encoders. The user is hanged on a metallic structure that provides the same sensation of being hanged on the real paraglider.

A Head Mounted Display (HMD) is used in combination with an inertial tracking system. This way the movement of the user's head is synchronized with the movement of the camera in the virtual scenario. In this case, stereoscopic techniques are not used due to the high distance between the camera and the objects. The human vision system lost the depth sensation with about 100 meters distance.

The paraglider simulator is in continuous development. Some future improvements of the simulator include mass transfer measurement, atmospheric events (air flows, turbulent wind, etc) and general graphical improvements, such as dynamic clouds or highly detailed trees.

Members
Manager: Lorenzo Rossi, Ryad Chellali
Developer: Lorenzo Rossi, Ryad Chellali, Jesus Ortiz, Laura Taverna
Lab: Mechatronics and Advanced control team