Vision and Scope Document
for
Flight Simulator for the Schweizer 1-26
Version 1.03
Prepared by Team Edge Time
RIT Software Engineering Department
April 17, 2006
Vision and Scope for Flight Simulator for the Schweizer 1-26 Page 5
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ii
Revision History ii
1. Business Requirements 1
1.1. Background, Business Objectives, and Customer Needs 1
1.2. Business Risks 1
2. Vision of the Solution 1
2.1. Vision Statement 1
2.2. Major Features 2
2.3. User Classes and Characteristics 3
2.4. Assumptions and Dependencies 4
3. Scope and Limitations 4
3.1. Scope of Initial and Subsequent Releases 4
3.2. Limitations and Exclusions 4
4. Business Context 5
4.1. Stakeholder Profiles 5
Revision History
Name / Date / Reason For Changes / VersionKaren Roth / 10/28/05 / initial draft / 0.01
Zeb Ford-Reitz / 12/04/05 / Initial draft for “Business Objectives and Success Criteria” and “Business Risks” sections.
Changed page header to match project name. / 0.02
Zeb Ford-Reitz / 12/12/05 / Added the following stakeholder profiles:
National Soaring Museum Patron
Funders of National Soaring Museum
College of Engineering
TBAs added for some data regarding these stakeholders. / 0.03
Karen Roth / 12/15/05 / Updated the “Business Objectives” section as well as the features list, assumptions and constraints, and limitations / 0.04
Karen Roth / 1/10/06 / Updated the features list / 0.05
All / 1/12/06 / Baselining / 0.06
Karen Roth / 1/14/06 / Updated the following: Combined sections 1.1 and 1.2 into one section, rephrased the vision statement in section 2.1, expanded and rephrased the major features section to include more information, added section 2.3 / 0.07
All / 1/17/06 / Baselining / 1.0
Karen Roth / 2/1/06 / Reviewed for Iteration 1, Hashed out the scope of releases section, rephrased some of the Limitations and Exclusions / 1.01
Karen Roth / 3/29/06 / Updated Operator Interface to reflect the change away from a preview window. / 1.02
Karen Roth / 4/17/06 / Iteration 3 update – Mostly Operator Interface to reflect the newest changes / 1.03
Copyright © 2002 by Karl E. Wiegers. All Rights Reserved.
Vision and Scope for Flight Simulator for the Schweizer 1-26 Page 5
1. Business Requirements
1.1. Background, Business Objectives, and Customer Needs
The National Soaring Museum in Elmira, NY sponsored a multi-disciplinary College of Engineering senior design project at RIT to construct a flight simulator for a Schweizer 1-26 glider at the beginning of Fall 2005. This simulator was to be based around a 3-degree of freedom motion platform provided by The National Soaring Museum and intended for use as an exhibit in the museum. During the initial design phase of this project a number of desired features were identified which would require extensive software design and development. The original project schedule and team size did not allow for the inclusion of such a software project. As a result, the College of Engineering requisitioned a Software Engineering Senior Design team to work in conjunction with them to complete the project.
The first and most important business objective is to create a new exhibit at the National Soaring Museum that will interactively and accurately present a mock glider ride to passengers from take-off until landing. The exhibit is to enhance the already existing area dedicated to Schweizer and his gliders. Secondly, the sponsors would like a new and unique way to teach individuals about flight. As a result, the simulator should be presented in a package so that it can be packed up and taken to different schools in the area to work with and educate children. Lastly, the simulation software should be presented in a manner that it can be taken and easily loaded onto other similar glider simulators that might or might not have an attached motion platform.
Success of these objectives will be the on-time delivery of a simulation software package that accurately presents a glider ride and works properly in conjunction with the physical simulator to present an enjoyable experience to all that try it.
1.2. Business Risks
The National Soaring Museum is investing money and time in this project. As such, there is the risk that this time and money will be wasted if the project does not meet the above-defined success criteria.
Additionally, there is a risk that, due to the interactive nature of the exhibit, a museum patron could be injured while interacting with, or standing near, the exhibit.
Another risk would be an exhibit that is unmaintainable, unmodifiable, and/or inextensible.
2. Vision of the Solution
2.1. Vision Statement
The software engineering team is to produce a visual display simulating the view from within the cockpit of a Schweizer glider. The display is to serve as a visual front-end for the flight dynamics engine of the simulator. It must therefore accept attitude and positional data from a separate application and align the virtual camera appropriately. The visual display is to compromise two separate interfaces, one for the user sitting in the simulator and one for the operator that runs the simulator and controls the parameters of the simulation. The software engineering team is also in charge of setting up all computer hardware and working to ensure that all computer components interact with the simulator hardware properly.
In addition to the program requirements, the Software Engineering team will be working with both the National Soaring Museum and the Multi-disciplinary College of Engineering team to produce the first senior design project that is a joint effort between the two colleges and the first software engineering multi-disciplinary project.
2.2. Major Features
FE-1: Pilot Interface - The pilot interface is primarily the simulation display. The user inside of the simulator has a control stick and rudder pedals to control how the plane moves in the simulation.
FE-1a: The landscape is to reflect the landscape at the National Soaring Museum.
FE-1b: There will be a physical stop button on the control panel that when pressed initializes a function that brings the simulator slowly back to the starting position and resets the simulation.
FE-1c: The glider view will be similar to that from the inside of a Schweizer 1-26 glider.
FE-1d: There will be a data display of flight information such as altitude, air speed, and vertical speed.
FE-1e: There will be a piece of yarn overlaid on the landscape to represent the turn indicator on a glider.
FE-2: Operator Interface - The operator interface is a separate application where the simulation is controlled. The interface includes options for the simulation like time limit, weather patterns, and turning on and off the thermals, a take-off sequence, and a large start button to begin the simulation. After the simulation has started, the Start button will change to a Stop button and all of the options will grey out.
FE-2a: A status screen will be available to show the operator how the pilot is doing without having to look at the pilot interface.
FE-2b: The operator will have an option of changing the time limit on the simulation from this interface. When the time limit has been reached then the simulator resets to the starting position and the simulation on displays holds in the landing position for a minute before resetting to demo mode.
FE-2c: The operator will have the option of changing the time of day to Dawn, Noon, or Dusk.
FE-2d: The operator will have the option of having thermals or not. A thermal is a rising patch of warm air. If the user were to encounter a thermal in the simulation, it would cause the glider to act different and be able to stay in the air longer if used properly. These thermals will reflect the thermal pattern around the National Soaring Museum.
FE-2e: There will be an option to turn the status screen on and off. This data display includes information like airspeed, altitude, and vertical speed.
FE-2f: There will be an option to include or skip the take-off sequence.
FE-2g: There will be an option to change the starting altitude to 1000, 2000, or 3000 feet in the air.
FE-2h: There will be text boxes where the operator can enter the direction of the wind, the strength of the wind, the latitude, the longitude, and the starting airspeed of the glider. All text boxes will only accept integer values within certain parameters.
FE-2i: If for any reason at any point during the simulation the operator chooses to stop the simulation they may press the Stop button. This button slowly resets the physical simulator to the starting position and sends the simulation screen into demo mode. The stop feature is only available when the simulation is running.
FE-2j: The operator may start the simulation at any time (unless there is another simulation running, in that case the start option is not available) by pressing the start button. Initiating the start sequence sends a signal for the system to come out of demo mode and start the simulation. It also causes the Stop button to appear as an option on the operator interface.
FE-2k The operator may select to exit the simulation at any time. Pressing the exit button causes a dialog box to open up verifying that the operator does want to exit the program. If this dialog is verified then any running simulations will end (this includes resetting the simulator to the starting position slowly) and then the program exits.
FE-3: Glider - The glider feature is the interaction of the simulation with the Schweizer 1-26 flight dynamics for accurate flight representation.
FE-4: Demo-Mode - The demo mode is to be run at times when the regular simulation is not on. It will essentially be a customized screen saver that shows demo flights continuously.
FE-5: Take-off - There are two possible take-off scenarios. The first is where there is no take-off shown and the glider is placed in the sky to start. The second is a take-off sequence where a tow plane is taking off with the glider in tow.
2.3. User Classes and Characteristics
There are several classes of users that it will be pertinent to include in the design of this simulation, these include beginners, advanced beginner, intermediate, and experts. Separate from these user classes are also operators. No individual other the operator will have access to the operator interface that controls the start and stop of the simulation.
Beginners: Beginning users are those users that have never used the glider simulation system before and are not familiar with flight operation in general. It is likely that these users will need an explanation for what the controls are for and it is possible they will crash the glider and need the system reset sometime during their beginning sessions. Beginners can range from young children (As low as four to five years old) to older individuals (Over eighty). We estimate that 75% of our users will fall into this category.
Advanced Beginner: An advanced beginner will start this simulation having either, 1.) Some previous knowledge of flight simulators, or 2.) Have used our glider simulation minimally in the past. An advanced beginner will still use the system on a semi-infrequent basis and as a result will probably need to be refreshed on the operation environment each time they start. The age range for an advanced beginner is the same as a regular beginner. We estimate that 15% of our users will fall into this category.
Intermediate Users: These users have reached the point in time where they are experienced at flying a simulated aircraft and understand how all of the controls work to maneuver the glider. This includes specifically using National Soaring Museum glider simulation several times in the past to have an understanding of the setup and operation of the glider. This category of user will now be more worried about the look and feel of the aircraft and how well it maneuvers around the simulated airspace and represents the flight of a real glider. This is different from a beginner and advanced beginner in that they are more worried about the operation of the glider. An intermediate user will still be over a wide range of age ranges, from a younger child (Starting at a minimum of eight) to an older individual (over eighty). Approximately 7.5% of our users will fall into this category.
Experts: The expert user class will be well versed in flight simulation, having used and experienced several other simulators as well as used the National Soaring Museum glider simulation many times and are very comfortable with its use. An expert user will more than likely also have real life piloting experience to draw on it, but it is not a requirement of this type of user. With that background an expert user will be able to use and take advantage of more aspects of the system, for instance, they might know how to stall a glider, unlike more beginning and intermediate users. They will drive the addition of more components for the system and desire the system to be as lifelike and close to the real operation of the Schweizer 1-26 glider. An expert user can still be younger in age, but at a minimum will be of fifteen years of age. Approximately 2% of our users will fall into this category.
Operators: An operator of the system will be a trained member of the National Soaring Museum staff that is already an expert on the system and glider operation. Approximately 0.5% of the users will fall into this category.