Citation: Xie, Y.; Tang, Z.; Song, A.
Motion Simulation and
Human–Computer Interaction
System for Lunar Exploration. Appl.
Sci. 2022, 12, 2312. https://doi.org/
10.3390/app12052312
Academic Editors: Enrico Vezzetti,
Andrea Luigi Guerra, Gabriele
Baronio, Domenico Speranza and
Luca Ulrich
Received: 27 December 2021
Accepted: 17 February 2022
Published: 23 February 2022
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Article
Motion Simulation and Human–Computer Interaction System
for Lunar Exploration
Yuzhen Xie , Zihan Tang and Aiguo Song *
School of Instrument Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China;
220213615@seu.edu.cn (Y.X.); 213180269@seu.edu.cn (Z.T.)
* Correspondence: a.g.song@seu.edu.cn
Abstract:
When planning lunar rover missions, it is important to develop intuition and driving
skills for unfamiliar environments before incurring the costs of reaching the moon. Simulators
make it possible to operate in environments that have the physical characteristics of target locations
without the expense of extensive physical tests. This paper proposes a motion simulation and
human–computer interaction system based on a parallel mechanism to realize high-fidelity manned
lunar rover simulations. The system consists of an interactive operating platform and a lunar surface
simulation environment based on Unity3D. To make the 6-DOF platform simulate the posture changes
of the rover, we improved the motion simulation algorithm. We designed a posture adjustment
system and built virtual sensors to help astronauts perceive the lunar environment. Finally, this
paper discusses the method for the realization of the multi-channel human–computer interaction
system; astronauts can interactively control the rover through five channels. Experiments show
that this system can realize high-fidelity rover simulation and improve the efficiency of human-
computer interaction.
Keywords: rover simulation; multi-channel human–computer interaction; force feedback; Unity3D
1. Introduction
Rovers are indispensable in deep space exploration and can be used to perform
scientific tasks over long distances. China’s Jade Rabbit rover has successfully completed
its work on the moon. However, compared with unmanned rovers, the operation of a
manned rover is quite different. The only manned lunar rovers used so far have been on the
Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions of the early 1970s [
1
]. When planning lunar rover missions, it
is important to develop intuition and driving skills for alien environments before incurring
the cost of reaching the moon. Simulators make it possible to operate in environments that
have the physical characteristics of target locations without the expense and overhead of
extensive physical tests.
Research on manned rover simulators was carried out in the 1960s and 1970s, including
the simulator in the US Apollo program and the manned rover simulator in the former
Soviet Union [2]. In the Apollo project, simulator training accounted for one-third of total
training time. It is an important and irreplaceable part of training to develop the driving
skills of astronauts. Restricted by computer technology, these simulators adopted semi-
physical simulations and physical simulations—thereby reproducing the visual and motion
states of lunar driving [
3
]. Researchers have developed space-based suspension technology
or ground-based motion platforms to realize the simulation of motion perception [
4
].
Training can also be carried out in environments on the earth similar to the moon, such as
deserts, gravel deserts, and other areas, causing high costs.
In recent years, lunar rover simulation has mainly focused on lunar environment sim-
ulations and rover motion simulations. Allan et al. constructed a simulated lunar environ-
ment with high resolution terrain suitable for rover driving, using the open-source Gazebo
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 2312. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12052312 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci
