Driver training system and method with performance data feedback
First Claim
1. A system for simulating operation of a vehicle comprising:
- a plurality of input devices configured to control the simulated vehicle, at least one input device generating a set of input device states indicative of input device position;
a visual display configured to present a view of a simulated environment;
a computer including a model process associated with said simulated input devices capable of processing said input device states and determining position information of said simulated vehicle therefrom, wherein said computer further includes a control process, responsive to said position information, capable of displaying on the visual display a present route of the simulated vehicle through the simulated environment;
a memory having a plurality of buffers including a present route buffer;
a clock associated with said computer capable of providing timing information to said computer, wherein said computer stores input device states in the present route buffer at a first subset of selected times during traversal of the route; and
a display panel responsive to the stored input device states, said display panel providing a graphical representation of the input device states.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A driver training system for a user of a simulated vehicle. The system includes input devices for controlling the simulated vehicle, a video display having three-dimensional graphics, modeling software for determining position information based on the input devices, atmospheric effects software to simulate time-of-day and weather conditions, and recursive training software to display a previous route through an environment simultaneously with a present route through the environment together with associated performance data. Another aspect of the recursive training software replays either the previous route or present route and controls one of the input devices to provide "hands-on" feedback to the user. The user then incrementally and recursively maximizes parameters associated with vehicle operation skill. The driver training system may be embodied as a vehicle simulator.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A system for simulating operation of a vehicle comprising:
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a plurality of input devices configured to control the simulated vehicle, at least one input device generating a set of input device states indicative of input device position; a visual display configured to present a view of a simulated environment; a computer including a model process associated with said simulated input devices capable of processing said input device states and determining position information of said simulated vehicle therefrom, wherein said computer further includes a control process, responsive to said position information, capable of displaying on the visual display a present route of the simulated vehicle through the simulated environment; a memory having a plurality of buffers including a present route buffer; a clock associated with said computer capable of providing timing information to said computer, wherein said computer stores input device states in the present route buffer at a first subset of selected times during traversal of the route; and a display panel responsive to the stored input device states, said display panel providing a graphical representation of the input device states. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for simulating operation of a vehicle by a user in a simulated environment, said system comprising:
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a plurality of input devices capable of controlling the simulated vehicle, at least one input device generating a set of input device states indicative of input device position; a data processing unit connected to the input devices; a memory associated with the data processing unit, wherein the memory and the data processing unit constitute an information processing apparatus capable of executing a vehicle simulation software program which provides the user with a graphical representation of a simulated environment and a graphical representation of the input device states; a first display area capable of presenting the graphical representation of the simulated environment to the user; and a second display area capable of displaying the graphical representation of the input device states to the user. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for operating a simulated vehicle in a simulated environment comprising:
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a plurality of input devices for controlling the simulated vehicle, at least one input device generating a set of input device states indicative of input device position; a plurality of output devices, wherein a selected one of the output devices presents a user with a view of a simulated environment; a computer including a model process responsive to the input devices for determining position information of the simulated vehicle in the simulated environment, said computer further including a control process responsive to the position information for displaying on the selected output device a present route of the simulated vehicle through the simulated environment; a memory having at least one buffer including a present route buffer; a clock associated with said computer for providing timing information to the computer, wherein the computer stores input device states in the present route buffer of the memory at selected times during traversal of the present route and, wherein one of the output devices is responsive to the input device states stored in the present route buffer for providing a visual view indicative of the input device states. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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27. A user-interactive system, said system comprising:
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a plurality of input devices for controlling a simulated vehicle, wherein at least one input device generates a set of input devices states indicative of input device position; a computer including a first process responsive to the input devices for determining position information of the vehicle in a simulated environment and a second process responsive to the position information for displaying a present route of the vehicle through the simulated environment; a memory, associated with the computer, having at least one buffer including a present route buffer; a display for presenting a user with a view of the simulated environment; and a clock, associated with the computer, for providing timing information to the computer, wherein at each time in a first subset of selected times, the state of at least one input device is recorded and at each time in a second subset of selected times the position information of the vehicle is recorded, wherein the computer replays the present route on the display and controls movement of the at least one input device according to the states stored in the present route buffer. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. In a simulated environment, including an information processor with a visual display and a plurality of input devices, a method of simulating operation of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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moving the input devices to control a simulated vehicle; generating a set of input device states indicative of input device position for at least one input device; executing a vehicle simulation software program on the information processor which provides a user with a graphical representation of the simulated environment and a graphical representation of the input device states; displaying the graphical representation of the simulated environment to the user in a first display area; and displaying the graphical representation of the input device states to the user in a second display area. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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Specification