Gizmodo: simulator

Own Your Own Starfleet Shuttle Simulator

Adam Frucci — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:20:00 EST

A Utah school is selling off its Star Trek-inspired USS Galileo, which means this is your chance to own your very own spaceship simulator. It's perfectly practical! [Auction via io9]

Perfect Cocaine Simulator Will Never Make It to the iPhone App Store

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:20:00 EDT

This is funny because a) it's ultra-realistic and b) it is precisely one of the main uses of the iPhone in many clubs all around the world. And you gotta love their on-your-face sales pitch:

Be the envy of in-crowd. Get ejected from nightclubs. Shock and amaze your so-called friends. Get oral sex from Z-list celebrities.

Cocaine in a paragraph, boys and girls. The page claims that the software can be yours for five British pounds ($7.40) and a jailbreak, but people have alerted us that it may be a video. [iSnort]

Man Builds 747 Flight Simulator in His Warehouse, Earns Guinness Record

Sean Fallon — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:40:00 EDT

Flight enthusiast Matthew Sheil has built a 747-400 flight simulator in his Sydney warehouse that can stand up to any $40 million training version—and he did it for under $200,000.

Thanks to 45 different software programs running on 14 different computers, the simulator allows Sheil to fly to and from 27,000 different airports around the world with breathtaking realism.

Sheil is part of a growing network of enthusiasts from around the globe that serve as pilots and air traffic controllers in a virtual word. This network is amazingly complex:

In Sheil's simulator, computer screens replace the windows and if he is flying in the virtual world behind a person in Melbourne, and they are using a Qantas 767, "we actually see a Qantas 767 out the window - the software puts it in there for us - and he sees us".

Moreover, if Sheil flies through Russia, he is greeted by a volunteer Russian air traffic controller. Cars can be seen on the road when he comes in to land and people wave at him from the terminals.

What's even more amazing is that he managed to build the simulator for around $300,000 AUD (around $197,000 US) whereas professional training simulators can cost upwards of $40 million. This was made possible largely through donated parts given to Sheil because of his charity work. In return, all of the money he earns renting out the simulator is donated to the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). Still, this remarkable feat earned him the Guinness record for the "world's most expensive home flight simulator" (because Guinness will give out records for anything nowadays). As far as the cheapest is concerned, it would be hard to beat the $30,000 bedroom 747 simulator in terms of value. [SMH via Fark]

SkiGym Beats Wii Ski For Realism, Simulated Danger

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:45:00 EST

The SkiGym simulator looks like it's going for realism rather than the silly fun offered by the Wii, but some people probably want an accurate depiction of brief exhilaration before the inevitable faceplant.

The SkiGym hooks up to a PC to use the included game Alpine Ski Racing, or it can be used as a standalone gym. The game includes 32 different courses from 18 real-world mountains, just to add to the realism. It's available for a bank account-crushing $2300, which if I'm not mistaken could purchase a pretty sweet ski trip, but if you're loaded and scared of crashing, give it a look. [Random Good Stuff]

Fight Hurricanes with Gigantic Hurricane Simulators

Mark Wilson — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:30:00 EDT

It's the sort of thing you'd expect ordered by Wile E. Coyote from an ACME catalog. But instead, it's a product for the Hurricane Research Center to prepare for the devastating natural disasters. Six giant gasoline-powered fans drive winds at well over 100mph in a wall of moving air that's large enough to engulf an entire single-story building. Read on for a shot of the quarantined destruction:

Their next project, however, is even bigger. Funded by a Florida grant of $2 million, the research center is building an all-electric 12-fan "Wall of Wind" hurricane hanger designed to simulate the complete experience of Class 4 and 5 hurricanes. Now a completely internally-based system, the fans will propel air and water accompanied by cannons that fire objects like coconuts.

Because, sadly, someone in history has legitimately died from high speed coconut impact. [Pop Mech]

Mirage 3D DaVinci Driving Simulator Rig Lacks Wheels, Has Passenger Seat

Jack Loftus — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 10:00:00 EDT

We could only surmise that this "realistic" DaVinci driving simulator from Mirage3D is for teaching this morning. I mean, why else would this thing have a passenger seat? Riding shotgun for a video game? Not when the couch is so comfy, thanks. Then again, this is also the perfect gift for that cousin with a penchant for racing and DUIs, as it lovingly recreates the extreme driving experience with roll bars, uber-realistic, working gauges (controlled by an on-board PC), and Dolby 5.1 surround—all without the danger of having him sloshed on I-90. Oh, and there's a seat belt. That's the DaVinci, alright: safety first, dignity second.

[Mirage 3D via Born Rich]

Avalanche Simulator Ride: The Thrill of Being Crushed By Tons of Snow

Sean Fallon — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:30:08 EST

The ski resort of Les Deux Alps wants to give visitors a chance to experience what it is like to be caught in an avalanche and learn how to survive without all of that messy "white death" business. The "Robocoaster," as it is called, was the brainchild of of local businessman Marc Dode, who lost a friend in an avalanche several years ago. The simulator is encased in a large dome that features two cabins and a large fan to blow cold air.

It can also rotate around six axes and can throw the user through an arc of seven meters during the course of a two-minute ride, with the final 20 seconds focused on the avalanche itself. The simulator is set to open today at a cost of 10 € or $14 per person. [Les Deux Alps and Pistehors via Get Outdoors]

Virtual Train Simulator For Japanese Kids

Jason Chen — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 14:50:55 EDT

Can you imagine what kind of boring life you'd grow up to have if what you played with as a Japanese kid was a virtual commuter train simulator? All you do is go from one commuter stop to the next, picking up other sad sack salarymen, all the while enjoying the sights that is Japan's urban jungle. Makes me want to off myself just thinking about it. [TakaraTomy via Plastic Bamboo]

VRX Makes The Ultimate Xbox 360 Driving Setup a Reality

Jason Chen — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:00:56 EDT

Remember the Ultimate Xbox 360 Racing Setup? VRX cuts all of that do-it-yourselfness out of the equation with their VRX Triple Screen Limited Edition 001. Here's what you get.

Four Xbox 360 Elites, four copies of Forza Motorsport 2 (you need a copy in each in order to enable multi-monitor support), an Xbox 360 HD DVD drive, Xbox 360 camera, Xbox 360 wireless headset, a Zune, the Xbox 360 Steering Wheel, three 37-inch Sharp Aquos 1080p LCDs, a 7-inch rear-view LCD, Bose Acousimass 10-series surround sound, Harmon Kardon surround sound receiver, vibration feedback systems, aluminum mountin bracks and various other racing seat/setup gear to make the system a standalone beast.

How much will this cost? Let's just say you probably can't afford it. Email them for details if you just won the lottery. – Jason Chen

Product Page [VRX]

Golf Launchpad Cures Those Winter Blues

Travis Hudson — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 16:19:24 EST

The Golf Launchpad is a USB golf simulator. Plug it into your PC or Mac, install a little Tiger Woods PGA Tour and hit the links, virtually. This time instead of throwing your club into the lake, you can simply bash it into your wall. The simulator is even capable of analyzing your golf swing to help your almost-worthless attempts at becoming the next Arnold Palmer. The Golf Launchpad is available for $250.

Product Page [Via Uncrate]

Aibo Reborn in Software

johnb — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 13:27:40 EST

Aibo, your candle burned out long before your legend ever did, and Tea Vui Huang is keeping you alive through the magic of warez. Aibo Memories is a controllable Aibo simulator for Symbian Series 60 phones. While the value of this software is very dubious, I suspect Aibo lovers will be wiping a tear from their cheeks as they watch the world's favorite robotic pooch gambol again.

Tea Vui Huang's Aibo Memories [TeaVuiHuang]

Italy: Home to Delicious Pizza, Leather Shoes and Racing Simulators

Noah R — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 16:30:53 EDT

Italian company Movetech has finally designed a racing cockpit worthy of mention. Throw away your cheap Logitech set and get ready for some "full-blown racing." This cockpit will work with PS2 and your PC, as well as other various hookups. But it's designed for playing Gran Turismo, as the name implies. It comes with a full roll-cage-esque steel frame, a sweet-looking leather bucket seat (made of "ecological" leather no less) along with high-quality parts for the steering wheel and pedals. It's also competitively priced at 350 euros (around $425) which is worth it for what you're getting.

The announcement e-mail even comes with a titillating secrecy agreement. You can read it after the jump.

Gran Turismo Cockpit [Product Page]

Secrecy Obligation
In the matter of a new Simulated Cockpit for Playing Video Games,
The undersigned promises to keep all information, experience gained and technical knowledge (know-how) confidential, which has been made accessible to him or shall be made accessible to him by Mr.___________________________ of Creatina di Liu Tin Hang & C. S.a.s., Torino (Italy).

He shall also require this obligation of his employees.

Place

Date

Signature