Grader Simulator

Vertex Grader Simulator

A grader is a construction machine with a long blade used to create a flat surface during the grading process. Typical models have three axles, with the engine and cab situated above the rear axles at one end of the vehicle and a third axle at the front end of the vehicle, with the blade in between. Graders are commonly used in the construction and maintenance of dirt and gravel roads. Graders can produce inclined surfaces, to give side slopes to roads, and to produce drainage ditches  with  shallow V-shaped  cross-sections on  either  side  of  highways.  Other  common tasks  are  ripping,  ground  clearing  for  mixing and distributing materials, or to remove snow from roads.

Equipment:

·         Cabin atop a 2 to 6DOF platform

·         Real operation console

·         Driving pedals

·         Instructor's console with full control over the simulation

·         Digital sound effects from real environment

·         Projection system with 2 to 5 high resolution screens

Special conditions:

·         Weather conditions: wind, rain, fog...

·         Work with artificial light

·         Realistic response to collisions

·         Realistic soil and terrain dynamics: mass, cutting forces, inertial properties and collisions affect machine behaviour

Machinery malfunction, also injected by the instructor at run-time:

Main functions:

·         Theory module

·         Real start-up and stop sequence

·         Driving around the work environment

·         Ground levelling

·         Trench excavation

·         Spreading

·         Road construction and maintenance

·         Automatic and manual gearbox

·         Response of the machinery to the load

·         On screen information for user and instructor

·         Information window with state and position of the machinery and operation commands

  

Reports at the instructor's console:

·         Date

·         Starting and ending time

·         Time length

·         Finished exercises

·         Control handling log

·         Velocity log

·         Collision log

·         Dangerous manoeuvres log

Visualization system

·         High quality images, generated in real time.

·         3D graphics.

·         Picture textures from a real facility.

·         External views displaying machine parameters.

·         Heads-Up Display showing information about positions and machine 

       parameters.