NASA's New Simulator Aims To Make Air Taxis As Cosy As Your Couch

NASA researchers have developed a custom virtual reality flight simulator to study passenger experiences in air taxis. The simulator will collect data to help designers create aircraft that prioritize passenger comfort. Test pilot Wayne Ringelberg at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center recently completed test rides in the simulator, which will be used for the first research study later this year.

Ringelberg said, "The experiments in the ride quality lab will inform the advanced air mobility community about the acceptability of the motions these aircraft could make, so the general public is more likely to adopt the new technology." During his simulated air taxi ride, Ringelberg evaluated the realism and consistency of visual, motion, and audio cues provided by the simulation.

Image Courtesy: NASA

Simulator as a centerpiece for research

The simulator is part of NASA Armstrong's virtual reality passenger ride quality laboratory. It combines virtual reality visuals, physical motion cues, and spatialized rotor sounds to create an immersive air taxi passenger experience. Over the next four years, NASA researchers will conduct human subject research studies using the simulator to gather information that will help the industry understand what makes flying in an air taxi comfortable and enjoyable for customers.

The Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology project manages this work under NASA's Advanced Air Vehicles Program. This program supports NASA's Advanced Air Mobility mission, which aims to provide data that guides the development of electric air taxis and drones within the industry.