We're all familiar with simulators of various shapes and sizes, from PC software that emulates a flight deck to the large War of the Worlds-type structures at amusement parks that bring the fantasies of Star Wars to a bumpy reality for a few thrilling minutes. Outside the world of entertainment, the automotive industry has been using similar technology in terms of software, graphics and hardware to help develop vehicle ergonomics and, to some extent, performance and handling. These engineering design simulators have almost exclusively been based on the "hexapod" structures originally designed in 1947 by Dr Eric Gough for aircraft simulation. The ungainly looking hexapod is a platform sat on six computer-controlled rams which provide the motion in the six degrees of freedom needed to provide realistic motion in all vectors. Depending on the direction of motion needed, the movement of the rams can be highly complicated, with all six of them needing actuation to achieve a relatively simple movement along the X-Y plane.
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