Siper-Virtual Reality Simulator of Periscope

Abstract

In this paper an application designed to simulate the environment seen in a periscope by means of a virtual reality environment is presented. The application allows full viewing of all objects visible from the periscope, sea, ships, airplanes, etc. With the appropriate hardware (3D mouse and tracking systems) it is possible to navigate into the virtual world and interact with the elements. Each of the objects that appear in the navigation environment has been reproduced in the simulation model, including the behavior laws associated with it, so the complete functionality of the all objects can be simulated. This module is built into a larger and more complex computer system composed of the actual submarine simulator, with all its characteristic components (except the periscope) and the functional system, which simulates all the external signals that are captured by the submarine. The application automatically updates in the virtual environment any changes to the environment navigation and allows access, from this environment, to information on every component the same way as is done from a real periscope. The virtual reality application has been implemented in a hardware configuration and has the same interface as that used in the real periscope. In this way, the system developed can be integrated into a replica of the submarine emulating a real periscope, it being able to fully interact with the global system and allow totally real situations to be simulated.