Department of Computer Science

Background

Some of you may recall the BHPA’s “Virtual hang-glider” that appeared at Telford and at many outdoor shows around the country. This allowed the pilot to lie in a harness under a real hang-glider, put on a head mounted display glasses, and using software from a game, “fly” around an island trying to use the visible thermals. It was very successful in promoting the sport, and in gaining many thousands of pounds worth of free stand space at exhibitions up and down the country. The drawbacks were that the majority of schools who ran the exhibit and needed promotion were (and still are) predominantly interested in paragliding.

There were attempts to produce a virtual paraglider, but unfortunately the time, effort and skills needed meant that it proved a big challenge for the volunteers who kindly offered their time.

In 2006 Ian Currer of Northern Paragliding Ltd (together with Andy Shaw from Green Dragons and the late Dick Long - the BHPA treasurer) decided to tackle the project again. With help from the Business link “Knowledge Rich” programme that puts academics and businesses in touch with each other for research and development projects, Ian put together a proposal and started visiting universities in the North East. It soon became clear that a good simulator was definitely possible but very expensive (some quotes exceeding £30K).

Dr Paul Chapman from Hull university was one of those leading a research group (SimVis) who liked the look of the project. Paul also has a skydiving license and was interested both in developing simulators and learning to paraglide himself so he agreed to invest much of his own time and expertise in the development. Paul along with James Ward (a Research Fellow in Computer Science) have been the principal developers of the paragliding simulator.

A deal was struck in which Dick Long committed the BHPA to buying the first production system, and in doing so laid the financial foundations for this project. Northern Paragliding would pay for and develop the hardware and software, in conjunction with Hull university’s Computer Science Department.

Mr Ian Currer. Northern Paragliding Ltd.

Press Release: UP, UP AND AWAY!

The English weather is a problem for budding paragliding pilots; training days are often cancelled due to excessive winds and unsuitable weather conditions. It comes as a relief therefore for pilots to learn that the University of Hull has come to their rescue with the creation of a paragliding simulator – the first of its type in the world.

Many other institutions were keen to work on the project, but it was the University of Hull’s willingness to become airborne and learn how to paraglide, that made them the obvious choice for Northern Paragliding Ltd. The company had been commissioned to find a University to develop a simulator on behalf of the BHPA (British Hand-gliding and Paragliding Association).

Ian Currer of the Northern Paragliding Association commented: “I visited a number of Universities about the project, but decided to collaborate with Hull’s SimVis research group due to their wealth of experience in computer graphics and modelling, together with their genuine enthusiasm for the sport.”

Project Leader at the University of Hull, Dr Paul Chapman added: “I am a qualified skydiver and made the BHPA aware that I would be willing to learn to fly paragliders. You can’t build an accurate paragliding simulator by hiding yourself away in a lab, you need to get up there!”

The simulator will prove to be an effective learning tool because the pilot will be able to learn the paragliding controls, understand thermals and be able to negotiate air traffic before even lifting off the ground. The team has also created a realistic visual simulation where fields, mountains and landing strips can be seen and other paragliders come into view.

Commenting on the results of the creation, Dr Chapman said: “One of the most significant consequences of the simulator is that it will save lives. Paraglider and glider pilots die every year due to human error. By creating a realistic training environment, trainees will be able to learn about such issues as collision-avoidance and the understanding gained will be far more effective than that obtained from watching a video or reading a book.”

And the potential of the simulator doesn’t stop there, research collaborations with other parts of The University of Hull are taking shape; the Sports Science department are keen to use the simulator to investigate the psychological and physiological effects of exercising in a virtual environment. The Psychology department has registered an interest to use the simulator to research how the decision-making process can break down under high pressure, such as falling towards the ground upside down after the canopy has collapsed.

Virtual paraglider pilot at the Sport and Aviation Show, NEC, 2/3rd December 2006

Sport and Aviation Show, NEC, 2/3rd December 2006

In December, the simulator prototype made its first appearance at the NEC’s ‘Sport and Aviation Show’ where it proved to be a real crowd stopper, receiving positive feedback from both novice and experienced pilots. The simulator’s use is not limited to paragliding - the software has been written so that it can be easily modified for para-motoring or hang-gliding and would therefore open up a huge potential market worldwide. The project will undergo further developments before being manufactured next year.

Dr Chapman concluded: “This has been a thoroughly interesting and challenging project. I am excited about the potential for future developments and I am now hooked on paragliding – I am currently investigating how I can legally fly to work in the mornings!”