Page 301 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics

Fourth level
Tasks
Third level
Complex motions
Second level
First level Artificial intelligence Simulation
Simple motions
Simple-motion programming
An interactive simulator resembles a high-end video game. In fact,
computerized video games nowadays are more sophisticated than some
simulations. There is usually a video monitor, a set of controls, and a set
of indicators. There may also be audio devices and motion-imitation
machines. The controls depend on the scenario.
Suppose you get into a simulator intended to mimic the experience of
a driver in the Indy 500 auto race. The controls include an accelerator,
brakes, and a steering wheel. There is a speedometer and a tachometer.
There are speakers that emit noises similar to those a real driver would
hear. The seat vibrates and/or rocks back and forth. A high-resolution
display screen renders a perspective-enhanced view of the virtual road,
virtual cars, and the virtual surroundings as they whiz by. Interactive
simulation is often used as a teaching/training aid for complex skills, such
as flying an aircraft. This technique is especially useful in the military, for
training in a wide variety of skills.
An event simulator is a computer program that imitates, or models, the
behavior of a system.For example,you might want to start a business.How
well will it operate? Will you go bankrupt? Will you make a million dollars
in your first year? The event simulator, if it is sophisticated enough and if it
is given enough data, can help provide answers to questions like these.
One of the most important event simulators is the hurricane forecasting
model employed by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. As
Hurricane Andrew approached in August 1992, the computers predicted
the most likely places for landfall. Andrew took an unusual, east-to-west
path. Hurricanes often curve northward before they strike land, but the
Hurricane Center model predicted that Andrew would keep going due
west until it had passed over the Florida peninsula. The event simulator
in this case proved accurate.

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