So you think iRacing sim rig Pretty outrageous, isn’t it? Sure, it has a full movement base and it powered by a real heater-sounds like a PC, but I’m here to tell you your device sucks and the Swiss built state-of-the-art sim rigs in the 1970s –teach soldiers how to drive a tank. Why they need it, I can’t say (this is Switzerland anyway), but it’s great anyway.
So, because computers sucked in the 1970s, creating a realistic training simulator using computer graphics wasn’t really an option. It will look like a worse Nintendo Virtual Boycan cause a lot headache, and doesn’t really benefit anyone. Instead, those daring Swiss built a giant, room-sized model of the terrain and attached a small camera to an engine rig. The tank driving training is in the cockpit entertainment, operating the steering wheel, pedals and switches, and the camera moving around the scale model landscape based on the driver’s input. The cockpit rests on hydraulic cylinders that jostle the driver as the tank steers through different terrain, adding to the realism arrive experience.
This video by YouTuber Tom Scott shows how the system works and what the team at the Swiss Military Museum had to go through to get the simulator working again. Spoiler alert: it’s powered by Raspberry Pi. Wild, I know.
The best part of all this is that you can go to the Swiss Military Museum in Full-Reuenthal, and they will let you try it out – throat mic, headset and all. The fact that they let the public try this, with it being the only operating unit in the whole world, is quite mythical.
Also, I have to get some Alpenflage dope overalls. Call me, guys.
