What you’re looking at: a quote motion simulator unquote.
How it works: eight steel cables capable of moving in six dimensions are controlled by a high-powered winch system that can pull up to 1.5 tons; in the middle of those cables sits a platform that can support a payload of approximately one human.
Based on the above video, it’s probably not something said human will want to board on a full stomach.
Designed over the course of two years by the Tübingen-based Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics and Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation, the motion simulator is outfitted with a carbon fiber cabin and wireless virtual reality headset. While the addition of VR amplifies exactly what the device can simulate (driving, flying, space travel), the robot-controlled piece of equipment is impressive based on its physical abilities alone, and could prove useful for scientists who want to investigate the process of perception in humans.
“This simulator offers us entirely new possibilities for studying motion perception with possible applications in neurological research into balance disorders,” said perception researcher Professor Bülthoff of the Planck Institute.
Whatever you say, dude. Just put one in an amusment park and take our money.
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