XPI shows latest simulator image quality

3rd November 2011

At the Training and Simulation, Evaluation & Test (TSET) 2011 conference last week XPI showed some of the best quality visuals currently achievable in simulators plus a preview of what the future holds using ray tracing techniques in real time. A 12 mile section of road had been captured using LIDAR, digital photographs and video and subsequently converted, by XPI's in-house team, to an Open Flight format database for its car driving simulator. To demonstrate the quality of the visuals XPI showed simultaneous videos of live video footage seen from a car together with the same route seen in the driving simulator.

Alan Davenport, XPI's New Business Director said "Users see the quality of the visuals as the most important aspect and the LIDAR route shows just how good it can be. The visuals are extremely realistic with rich urban scenes, complex road junctions, well defined road markings and road signs. Combine this with a top class Artificial Intelligence and motion base and you have a world leading driving simulator"

For a glimpse into the future XPI displayed some images from its research work in Ray Tracing techniques. The realism of the images is astounding and generated in real time by a COTS PC. The shadows, reflections and atmospheric effects provide the operator with enhanced cues and at reduced cost and effort required to produce the database. Although the update rate doesn't yet reach the minimum required 30Hz XPI claims to be getting very close.

See our YouTube video comparing Live with Simulated imagery.