The present invention relates to a remote control assembly for use with a model vehicle.

Background

Prior art remote controls for model aircraft generally comprise two gimbals. A problem with these remote controls is that they create a very different experience from that of controlling a real aircraft.

For example, the standard controls of real helicopter include a cyclic stick, a collective lever, and a set of anti-torque pedals. The cyclic stick is used in forward flight to turn the helicopter and control its altitude, attitude and speed. In hover flight the cyclic controls lateral and longitudinal motion, The collective lever causes the helicopter to ascend or descend, and also includes a throttle to control engine R.P.M, which also causes ascent or descent. The anti-torque pedals are located in the same position as the rudder pedals in an airplane, and serve a similar purpose, namely, to control the yaw or direction in which the nose of the aircraft is pointed. Controlling a RC helicopter using a remote controller (transmitter) is not ideal and certainly has its detractions. In particular, the complex controls of a helicopter cannot be easily operated through the use of two small gimbals (joysticks). The experience is very different from that of piloting an actual helicopter which has pedals, throttles, and a large joystick which the model helicopter cannot provide, Another current problem experienced by persons who control RC helicopters is that they often need to control the aircraft for long periods of time in situations where it would be preferable for them to sit, However, when seated, the person controlling the aircraft will lose sight of the aircraft if it passes overhead and to the rear of the person sitting in the seat, It will be appreciated that one or more of the above-mentioned problems also exist for other forms of model vehicles such as model planes, model boats, and model cars. T U2011/000559

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Therefore, there is a need to overcome or at least alleviate one or more of the above- mentioned problems or provide a useful alternative. The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from the prior publication), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that the prior publication (or information derived from the prior publication) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.

Summary

In one broad aspect there is provided a remote control assembly for use with a model vehicle, wherein the remote control assembly includes:

a rotatable station for supporting a user operating a remote control unit;

a drive unit operably connected to the station; and

a monitoring and control system for actuating the drive unit to automatically conect an orientation of the station, via rotation thereof, such that the user is orientated in a forward facing direction relative to the model vehicle. In one form, the monitoring and control system includes:

one or more monitoring units for generating a monitoring signal indicative of an angular offset between station and the model vehicle; and

a processor for receiving a monitoring signal from the one or more monitoring units and determining correction data, wherein the drive unit is actuated, by the processor, according to the correction data to correct the orientation of the station,

In another form, the monitoring and control system is configured to:

monitor rotation of the user's head whilst viewing the model vehicle; and actuate the drive unit to rotate the station based upon sensing rotation of the user's head. In one embodiment, the one or more monitoring units includes one or more sensors coupled to the user's head,

In another embodiment, the one or more sensors include a magnetic sensor.

In one optional form, the processor is configured , to determine the rotation adjustment relative to magnetic North.

In another optional form, the one or more monitoring units include one or more inertial sensors.

In one optional embodiment, the one or more inertial sensors includes at least one of: one or more accelerometers; and

one or more gyroscopes.

In another optional embodiment, the one or more monitoring units includes an image capturing unit which transfers the monitoring signal indicative of image data to the processor, wherein the processor performs image processing upon the image data to determine the rotation of the user's head.

Optionally, the image capturing unit is a video camera.

In one form, one or more visual indicators worn upon the user's head are captured by the image capturing unit and are used by the processor in the image processing to determine the rotation adjustment data,

In another form, the one or more monitoring units include a potentiometer extending between the station and coupled to the user's head, wherein the potentiometer transfers the monitoring signal indicative of movement of the user's head to the processor for determining the rotation adjustment data. In one embodiment, the one or more monitoring units include a vehicle monitoring unit, mounted to the station, for monitoring the vehicle and generating the monitoring signal indicative of an orientation of the model vehicle relative to the station, wherein the processor is configured to process the model vehicle signal to determine the orientation of the station relative to the model vehicle and actuate the drive unit accordingly.

In another embodiment, the monitoring unit includes an image capturing unit for generating image data indicative of the orientation of the model vehicle relative to the station, wherein the processor is configured to perform image processing upon the image data and actuate the drive assembly upon determining the existence of an angular offset.

In an optional form, the model vehicle includes a signal generator for generating a signal which is captured by the vehicle monitoring unit to determine if correction of the orientation of the station is required.

In another optional form, the signal generator generates an electromagnetic signal,

In an optional embodiment, the electromagnetic signal includes:

a light signal;

an infra-red signal; and

a radio frequency signal.

In another optional embodiment, the signal generator generates an audio signal. Optionally, the station includes one or more station controls which are operably coupled to one or more controls of the remote control unit.

In one form, the processor is configured to:

receive model vehicle sensor data indicative of one or more sensor signals captured by one or more model vehicle sensors mounted to the model vehicle; and actuate one or more haptic actuators associated with the one or more station controls,

In another form, the remote control assembly includes:

a second drive unit, operably coupled to the processor, for adjusting the pitch of the station; and

a third drive unit, operably coupled to the processor, for adjusting the roll of the station;

wherein the processor actuates at least one of the second and third drive units in accordance with at least one of:

the model vehicle sensor data; and

actuation of the one or more station controls,

In one embodiment, the model vehicle includes a vehicle image capturing unit configured to capture and transfer vehicle image data to the remote control assembly for presentation via a display,

In another embodiment, the vehicle image capturing unit is a video camera and the image data is video data,

In an optional form, the display is one of:

coupled to the user; and

mounted upon the station, In another optional form, the monitoring and control system receives a feedback signal indicative of the rotation of the station, wherein actuation of the drive unit by the monitoring and control system is at least partially based upon the feedback signal,

In an optional embodiment, the feedback signal is generated by an encoder operably coupled to the drive unit. In another optional embodiment, the station is further comprised of a base pivotaliy coupled to a rotating deck,

Optionally, the rotating deck includes a seat and control deck situated substantially in front of the seat, wherein the control deck includes a cradle for receiving the remote control unit.

In one form, the model vehicle is a model aircraft,

Other embodiments will be realised throughout the description,

Brief Description of the Figures

Example embodiments should become apparent from the following description, which is given by way of example only, of at least one preferred but non-limiting embodiment, described in connection with the accompanying figures,

Figure 1 is a block diagram representing an example of a remote control assembly;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an example of a station of the remote control assembly of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the station of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a control panel of the station of Figure 2; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a cyclic stick of the station of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a side view of the cyclic stick of Figure 5, wherein an extended position of the cyclic stick is shown in dotted line; Figure 7 is a perspective view of a set of pedals of the station of Figure 2; Figure 8 is a plan view of the remote control assembly of Figure 1 (without the hat and magnetic sensor for clarity) showing the relationship between angles of the user's head rotation and a reference point/direction; Figure 9A is a perspective view of the remote control assembly of Figure 1 , where the sensing and control system includes use of a magnetic sensor;

Figure 9B is a perspective magnified view of a magnetic sensor mounted on a hat of the user for use with the remote control assembly in Figure 9A;

Figure 9C is a block diagram representing an example sensing and control system for the remote control assembly of Figures 9A and 9B;

Figure 10A is a perspective view the remote control assembly of Figure 1 , where the sensing and control system includes use of an image capturing unit;

Figure l OB. is a magnified perspective view of the remote control assembly of Figure 10A, in use with the image capturing unit; Figure I OC is a block diagram representing the example monitoring and control system for the remote control assembly of Figures 10A and 10B;

Figure 10D is a block diagram representing an alternate example monitoring and control system for use with the remote control assembly of Figure 1 ;

Figure 1 1 A is a perspective view of the remote control assembly of Figure 1 , where the monitoring and control system includes use of a potentiometer;

Figure 1 I B is a block diagram representing the monitoring and control system using the potentiometer for use with the remote control assembly of Figure 1 1 A; Figure 12 is an alternate monitoring and control system using a plurality of different sensors for the remote control assembly of Figure 1 ;

Figure 13 is a block diagram illustrating a feedback system of the remote control assembly of Figure 1 ;

Figure 14 is a perspective view of the remote control assembly of Figure 1 in data communication with a processing system and a display; and Figure 1 5 is a block diagram representing an alternate monitoring and control system of the remote control assembly with use with the model vehicle.

Detailed Description of Embodiments

The following modes, given by way of example only, are described in order to provide a more precise understanding of the subject matter of a preferred embodiment or embodiments. In the figures, incorporated to illustrate features of an example embodiment, like reference numerals are used to identify like parts throughout the figures.

Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a block diagram representing an example of a remote control assembly 10 for use with a model vehicle 1 1 . In particular, the remote control assembly 10 includes a rotatable station 3, a drive unit 6 operably connected to the station 3, and a monitoring and control system 9 operably connected to the drive unit 6,

The station 3 is configured to support a user 13 operating a remote control unit 20 for the model vehicle 1 1 . The monitoring and control system 9 is configured to actuate the drive unit 6 to automatically correct an orientation of the station 3, via rotation thereof, such that the user 13 is orientated in a forward facing direction relative to the model vehicle 1 1 .

Referring to Figure 2 there is shown a schematic representing another example of the remote control assembly 10. In particular, the station 3 can include one or more controls 70 for allowing the user to control the operation of the model vehicle 1 1 , wherein the one or more controls 70 provide a simulation of a real vehicle corresponding to the model vehicle (i.e. a the controls simulate a cockpit of a helicopter which corresponds to a model helicopter being controlled via the remote control unit), Whilst the examples discussed throughout the specification will be described with reference to simulating the control of a helicopter, it will be appreciated that embodiments of the remote control assembly 10 can be configured to simulate other forms of real vehicles such as aircraft including aeroplanes, land-based vehicles such as cars, and water- based vehicles such as boats, Additionally, it will be appreciated that whilst throughout the examples the remote control assembly 10 will be described in relation to a model helicopter, other model vehicles could be controlled via the remote control assembly 10 such as other model aircrafts like model aeroplanes, land based model vehicles such as model cars, or water based model vehicles such as model boats, · Referring more specifically to Figure 2, the rotatable station 3 comprises a rotatable deck 1 80 pivotally supported by a base 170 which rests on the ground or floor surface, The rotating deck 1 80 further comprises of a frame 56 for supporting a seat 54, the drive unit 6 provided in the form of a motor 136, at least part of the monitoring and control system 9 provided in the form of a processing system 138 such as a microcontroller, and a control deck 190. The control deck 190 is further comprised of control panel 12 and the one or more controls 70 including a cyclic stick 60, collective lever 48 and pedals ^' 1 10, 1 12,

There are various means of translating user operation of the one or more controls 70 to one or more controls of the radio control unit 20 of the model vehicle 1 1. One particular example is described below.

In particular, the control panel 12 comprises of a front panel 14, a bottom panel 1 6 and a rear panel 1 8 which cooperate to receive and support the remote control unit 20 which is a standard hand held remote control unit (see Figures 2 and 4). The remote control unit 20 has two gimbals 22 and 24, which are used to control the movement of a model helicopter 1 1 , In this embodiment, the rear panel 1 8 may be of a height such that the when the gimbals 22 and 24 of the remote control unit 20 are inserted through two portals 26 and 28 in the front panel 14 of the control panel 12, the gimbals 22 and 24 are initially level with the top of the two portals 26 and 28, As the remote control unit 20 is lowered into position onto bottom panel 16 of the control panel 12, the gimbals 22 and 24 are lowered to a height equal to the centre of the portals 26 and 28.

Referring to Figure 4, a guide 29 is affixed on the front panel 14 of the control panel 12 over the portals 26 and 28. The guide 29 has a set of horizontal rails adapted to slidably receive plates 30 and 32, The guide 29 also has a set of vertical rails (underneath the horizontal rails) adapted to slidably receive plates 34 and 36,

The gimbal 22 is inserted through the portal 26, a horizontal slot 38 in the plate 34, and a vertical slot 40 in the plate 30. The gimbal 24 is inserted through the portal 28, a horizontal slot 42 in the plate 36, and a vertical slot 44 in the plate 32.

Referring to Figure 2, a collective lever 48 is adapted to rotate on a pivot 49 which is attached to a frame 56 which supports the seat 54 and other components of the platform 10, The plate 34 (see Figure 4) is attached to the collective lever 48 via a cable 50, which is encased within a sheath 52 that may be made of plastic,

When a user 13 sitting on a seat 54 uses their left arm to rotate the collective lever 48 upward, the cable 50 is pushed through the sheath 52 and raises the plate 34, which in turn pushes the gimbal 22 upwards, Pushing the gimbal 22 upwards causes the model helicopter 1 1 to ascend.

Conversely, when the user 13 rotates the collective lever 48 downward, the cable 50 is pulled through the sheath 52 and lowers the plate 34, which in turn pulls the gimbal 22 downwards. Pulling the gimbal 22 downwards causes the model helicopter 1 1 to descend, The collective lever 48 may also include a throttle, A full collective-throttle combination may be provided when using the station 3 with computer simulation software and a display monitor as shown in Figure 12. The throttle cable is operated by a twisting action of the collective lever, ·

As shown in Figure 5, the remote control assembly 10 has a cyclic stick 60 which comprises a first leg 62, a second leg 64 and a third leg 66, The three legs 62, 64 and 66 are connected to the frame 56 via ball and socket joints (see Figure 2). The first leg 62 is connected to the cyclic grip 68 (see Figure 4) of the cyclic stick 60 and comprises one section. The first leg 62 is connected by a horizontal member 72 and a horizontal pivot joint 74 to the second leg 64. The second leg 64 has a top section 76 and a bottom section 78 which are joined by a horizontal pivot joint 80. The third leg 66 also has a top section 82 and a bottom section 84, which are connected by a horizontal pivot joint 86. The top section 82 of the third leg 66 is joined by a horizontal member 88 and a horizontal pivot joint 90 to the first leg 62.

The plate 36 is connected to the first leg 62 of the cyclic stick 60 by a cable 92 (which is encased within a sheath 94) which passes through the second leg 64, As the user 13 pulls the cyclic stick 60 towards the seat 54, the cable 92 is pulled through the sheath 94 against the second leg 64, as shown in Figure 6, The cable 92 may be pulled up to a maximum distance of δ, which is equal to the maximum distance which the plate 36 may be pulled downward. The first leg 62 of the cyclic stick 60 is restricted from being pulled beyond δ by a brace 96 which connects the first leg 62.and the second leg 64 of the cyclic stick 60 (see Figure 6), The brace 96 has a rubber 98 to restrict the backward motion of the cyclic stick 60 and a rubber 100 to restrict the forward motion of the cyclic stick 60, In like manner, a brace 102 has rubbers 104 and 106, and connects the first leg 62 to the third leg 66 of the cyclic stick 60. Pulling the cyclic stick 60 towards the seat 54 pulls the plate 36 downwards which pulls the gimbal 24 downwards and causes the model helicopter 1 1 to pitch upwards. In like manner, pushing the cyclic stick 60 away from the seat 54, causes the model helicopter 1 1 to pitch downwards.

Moving the cyclic stick 60 to the right pulls on a cable 1.08, which draws the gimbal 24 to the right and causes the model helicopter 1 1 to move sideways to the right in a hover, or roll into a right turn during forward flight, much as in an aeroplane, Conversely, moving the cyclic stick 60 to the left pushes on the cable 108, which pushes the gimbal 24 to the left and causes the model helicopter 1 1 to move sideways to the left in a hover, or roll into a left turn during forward flight, much as in an aeroplane.

The user 13 is also able to control the yaw of the model helicopter 1 1 using the left pedal 1 10 and the right pedal 1 12 (see Figures 2 and 7) which are both connected to and supported by the frame 56 of the remote control platform 10. Depressing the left pedal 1 10 pushes a member 1 14 which rotates a leg 1 16 and thereby a bar 1 1 8 in a clockwise direction, This rotates a stem 120 in a clockwise direction and pulls a cable 122 through a sheath 124 against the plate 30. The plate 30 pulls the gimbal 22 to the left which causes the model helicopter 1 1 to yaw left.

Conversely, depressing the right pedal 1 12 pushes a member 126 which rotates a leg 128 and thereby a bar 130 in an anticlockwise direction. This rotates the stem 120 in an anticlockwise direction and pushes the cable 122 through the sheath 124 against the plate 30, The plate 30 pushes the gimbal 22 to the right which causes the model helicopter 1 1 to yaw right,

A biasing mechanism in the form of a spring 132 brings both the left pedal 1 10 and the right pedal 1 12 back to centre position when no force is applied by the feet of the user 13. In this way, the left pedal 1 10 and the right pedal 1 12 counteract each other in a see-saw fashion. A number of means can be used to determine if a correction of the station orientation is required such that the user is placed in a forward facing position.

In one form, the monitoring and control system 9 can be configured to sense rotation of the user's head 1 5 and cause actuation of the drive unit 6 such that the user 13 upon the station 3 is rotated to a forward facing position.

In general, the monitoring and control system 9 includes one or more monitoring units that are configured to generate a signal indicative of the rotation of the user's head. The monitoring signal is indicative of the detection of head rotation and/or the amount of head rotation detected. The signal is transferred, wirelessly or using a wired medium, to the processor 138 , The monitoring and control system 9 can also be configured to receive station position data 965 indicative of the rotational position of the station. The processor uses the signal indicative of the head rotation and the station position data 965 to generate rotation adjustment data indicative of the rotation required by the station such that the user is positioned in a forward facing position. The processor controls actuation of the drive unit 6 according to the rotation adjustment data, thereby rotating the station 3 such that the user is positioned in a forward facing position. Referring to Figure 8 there is shown a schematic representing a relationship between various angles which can be used by the monitoring and control system 9 in certain embodiments,

In particular, the monitoring and control system 9 can be configured to determine the angle Φ by measuring the angle Θ which extends from a reference point to the midline of the platform 10, and measuring the angle a which extends between the reference point (shown as REF) and the angle of the head 15 of the user 13. The difference between the angle Θ and the angle a is equal to the angle Φ. In order to direct the user 1 3 on the platform 10 toward the model helicopter 1 1 , the angle Φ is reduced to zero, Once the angle Φ has been determined, the processor 138 may use a rotary encoder 142 and the motor 136 to rotate the rotatable deck 180 of platform 10 relative the base 170. A feedback cycle of resampling angle Φ is established and the rotation continues until such time the resampled angle Φ is zero which would be the case when the users head is directly facing the flight controls of the platform 10. For example, if the angle Φ is equal to 20° clockwise, then the processor 138 directs the motor 136 to rotate the platform until the resampled angle is zero.

It will be appreciated that many types of references, such as reference points or reference directions, can be used as will be described in embodiments below. The way in which these angles are calculated is also discussed below in various embodiments,

Referring to Figures 9A to 9C there is shown an implementation of the monitoring and control system 9 which utilises one or more magnetic sensors. The one or more magnetic sensors can be provided in the form of one or more digital compasses, such as a multi-axis magnetometers, wherein at least one of the magnetic sensors is attached to the user, The one or more magnetic sensors can be configured to transfer (wirelessly or via a wired communication medium) signal 905 to the processor 138, wherein the processor 138 actuates the drive unit 6 to correct the station 3 to a forward facing position for the user. In one form, the processor 138 is configured to calculate the amount of rotation required by the station based upon the received data,

In this embodiment, a magnetic sensor 140 is attached to a hat 142 worn by the user 13 (see Figures. 9A and 9B), and is adapted to transfer the angle a to the processor 138 ,

A number of different reference points REF can be used. In one embodiment, the reference point which is used is magnetic North, In particular, a second magnetic sensor 144 (shown in Figure 2) is attached to the midline of the frame 56 of platform 10 and is adapted to transfer (wirelessly or via wired communication medium) the angle Θ to the processor 138. The processor 138 can then subtract Θ from a to determine Φ indicative of the amount of angular rotation required to cause the user to be placed in a forward facing position. However, another reference point can be used other than magnetic North, For example, the magnetic sensor 1 4 can be replaced by a rotary encoder, In use, a user sits on the seat and faces directly ahead towards the flight controls and 'zeros' or recalibrates the station, During the recalibration process, the processor 138 reads the rotational position of the rotary encoder and sets it as the reference point. The processor 138 also receives the magnetic data from the magnetic sensor 140 which is worn by the user, Thereafter during use, the rotary ^' encoder provides a measure of the angle between the reference point utilising the encoder and the direction of the midline of the platform 10 to the processor 138. At the same time the sensor 144 provides a reading to the processor 138 which is adjusted to account for the difference between magnetic North and the reference point which thereafter becomes a measure of the angle between the reference point and the gaze of the users head. From these two values, the processor 138 calculates the angle Φ, being the angle of rotation of the users head with respect to the midline of the frame 56 of platform 10,

In another alternative embodiment, a method of determining the angle Φ involves directly measuring the angle Φ that extends between the midline of the frame 56 of platform 10 and the head 15 of the user 13, An electromagnet 146 (see Figure 1 ) may be placed on the midline of the platform 10 to act as an artificial North pole for the digital compass 140 mounted on the users head, so that the angle Φ may be directly measured by a single digital compass 140 and transmitted to the processor 138.

As discussed above, the one or more magnetic sensors can be provided in the form of one or more multi-axis magnetometers. In one form, the one or more multi-axis magnetometers can be provided in the form of a dual-axis magnetometer, In a further alternate arrangement, the dual-axis magnetometer may be replaced with a tri-axial magnetometer acting as a tilt-compensated digital compass. In this arrangement, the magnetic vector data received by the processor 138 allows for the determination of the required rotation of the station 3 by the processor taking into account the angular tilt of the user's head. Referring to Figure 9C there is shown a block diagram representing the monitoring and control system 9 for the embodiment utilising the one or more magnetic sensors, In particular, the magnetic sensors 140 transfer magnetic measurements 905 to the processor 138. The processor 138 may include an analogue to digital converter 91 0 which converts analogue signals 905 received from the one or more magnetic sensors 140 to digital data. 915 representing the magnetic data. However, it will be appreciated that the magnetic measurements may be digital data and thus the analogue to digital converter 910 is optional, A filter 920, such as a statistical filter, is then applied by the processor 138 to correct for anomalies and errors in the sensed measurements. The processor 138 also receives station position data 965, which as described above can be received from a rotary encoder 960, although could also be received from another unit as described above such as a sensor or the like. The processor 148 uses the filtered magnetic digital ^' data 925 and the station position data 965 to determine the rotational adjustment data 935 indicative of the rotation of the station 3 required for the user seated upon the station 3 to be returned to a forward facing position, Rotational adjustment data 935 indicative of the rotation adjustment is then converted into an analogue signal 945 via a digital to analogue converter 940. The analogue signal 945 representing the rotational adjustment data is then transferred to a servomechanism 950 which actuates the motor 136 to cause rotation of the station 3 such that the user is orientated in a forward facing position relative to the vehicle 1 1 .

Referring to Figures 10A to 10D there is shown an alternate monitoring and control system 9 which utilises a monitoring unit in the form of an image capturing unit such as a video camera 148. In particular, the video camera 148 transfers an image signal 1010 indicative of the user' s head to the processor 138. By way of example, the video camera 148 may be positioned above the head 15 of the user 13 (see Figures 10A and 10B). However, as shown in Figure 10D, the video camera 148 can alternatively be located in other orientations, such as behind the user's head to capture image data 1010 indicative of the user rotating their head, The video camera 148 can be installed on the station 3 facing the user so that the head of the user is within the field of view of the video camera. Referring to Figures I OC and 10D, the image signal 1010 may be converted to digital data 915 in the form of image data by an analogue to digital converter 910. The processor 138 then applies image processing 1 020 to determine the rotation of the user's head indicated by the captured images. In particular embodiments, head tracking algorithms can be utilised by the processor to track the position and/or orientation of the head and/or face of the user. This could be performed using a custom algorithm and software or could be implemented by using an off-the-shelf system, such as the commercially available Seeing Machines FaceAPI which allows for tracking of three dimensional position and orientation of the face of a user facing the camera. The camera could be integrated into a laptop computer, or could be integrated into a mobile telecommunications device with camera and communications interface, Once the rotation of the user's head has been determined by the processor, the processor 138 can perform the rotation adjustment calculation 1030 based upon the head rotation data 1025 generated by the image processing 1020 and preferably based upon the station position data 935. The orientation of the station 3 is then corrected similarly as described above.

In the embodiments shown in Figures 10A and 10B, an alternative to head tracking is to use one or more visual indicators coupled or attached to the head of the user or integrated into head gear worn by the user. The one or more visual indicators could take the form of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) or the like, wherein image data can be captured by the video camera indicative of the one or more visual indicators and analysed by tele processor to determine the required rotation of the station, As shown by example in Figures 10A and 10B, a hat may be provided which includes a visual indicator in the form of an arrow, The processor 138 is configured to direct the station to rotate in the direction the arrow 1 50 on the user's hat is pointing (see Figure 9B). The angle of the arrow is measured against the centreline of the station, and is essentially the angle Φ (see Figure 7).

Referring to Figure 1 1 A and 1 1 B there is shown another alternative example of a monitoring and control system 9, wherein the one or more monitoring units includes a potentiometer 152. Specifically, the potentiometer 152 is linked to the head 15 of the user 13 by a mechanical apparatus 154. The potentiometer 152 provides, wirelessly or via a wired medium, an electrical signal 1 105 to the processor 138 indicative of the angle Φ to the processor 138. The analogue to digital converter 910 converts the signal to digital data 915, and a filter 920 is applied, prior to performing a rotation adjustment calculation 1 130 and generating the rotation adjustment data 935, The rotation adjustment calculation 1 130 may be performed based upon a drift compensated feedback signal 1 145 from the rotary encoder 960, wherein the feedback signal 1 145 is drift compensated 1 140 by the processor 138. The orientation of the station 3 is then corrected similarly as described above.

Referring to Figure 12, there is shown a block diagram representing the monitoring and control system 9 which utilises a plurality of different types of sensors. In particular, the processor 138 is configured to receive measurements from an at least two of a multi-axis magnetometer 140, a multi-axis accelerometer 1210, and a gyroscope 1205. Specifically, the processor 138 is configured to receive at least two of magnetic data, acceleration data, and gyroscopic data via the A/D converter 910, wherein the processor can filter the data and utilise these measurements to determine the rotation adjustment data 935 accordingly.

In this embodiment, acceleration vector data can be transferred from the multi-axis accelerometer to the processor 138 to determine the head tilt angle of the user so that a tilt- compensated magnetic heading is able to be calculated, thereby allowing for rotation adjustment of the station despite deviations in the user's head tilt relative to the horizontal.

In a further alternate arrangement, a tri-axial magnetometer may also be complimented with a multi-axis accelerometer so that magnetic and gravitational vectors can both be used by the processor for tilt compensation when determining the rotation adjustment of the station. As will be appreciated, the combination of sensors may be attached to the user's head, such as via a hat as discussed in relation to Figures 9A to 9D for the magnetometer.

In this embodiment shown in Figure 12, the processor is configured to utilise a statistical filter to filter the data received from the combination of sensors. In one example, the statistical filter may include a Kalman filter that is configured to take into account individual sensors and sensor performance, The Kalman filter is configured to apply a data f sion process which combines the data from different sensors in a standard measure and update prediction and observation cycle. The statistical filter continually corrects the estimate of the angle a, based on the inputs from the multiple sensors, using a dynamic weighting algorithm that tracks the performance of each sensor, This embodiment may require some means to periodically zero any cumulative error by referencing a known datum. This could be achieved using the measurement of the angle Φ, and zeroing the system each time a new user operates the remote control assembly,

The advantages of combining information from multiple sensors can be seen in certain situations where, based on location and materials, magnetic measurements could suffer from interference. Without the use of complimentary sensors, it is difficult to determine if changes in magnetic heading are due to actual changes in heading or due to external sources of interference. Although in most cases static sources of magnetic interference could be corrected for by a calibration procedure, dynamic magnetic fields (e.g. from a motor or from placing the sensor near metallic objects) can corrupt magnetic heading measurements, Another advantage of combining multiple sensors is to take advantage of the performance of each sensor, For example, highly dynamic motion measurements are more suited towards the high sample rate provided by inertial sensors, yet magnetic sensors provide a heading measurement which does not drift, and combining both sensors can aid in reduction of sensor drift and improved results.

As discussed above, the monitoring and control system 9 of the embodiment of Figure 12 can utilise a number of different sensors such as an accelerometer 1201 , magnetometers 140, and/or gyroscopes 1205. However, a single sensor unit, such as a complete inertial measurement unit (IMU) can be utilised which provides multiple inertial sensor measurements. It is also possible to use motion sensors contained within mobile telecommunication devices to provide the inertial sensor measurements, In this case, the mobile telephone senses the particular inertial measurements and transfers the measurements to the processor 138 of the station 3 for analysis to calculate the rotation adjustment data. Where required, all sensing elements can be temperature compensated so that the drift in sensor bias and other sensor parameters do not result in a large error. When using an IMU, this may already be performed as part of the sensor manufacturing processes, however, in general, many low cost IMUs may not be temperature compensated. More importantly, when using individual inertial sensors, detailed calibration is not usually performed by the manufacturer and variances in manufacturing tolerances could result in large deviations between true readings and the sensor measurements. As part of the use of inertial sensors, calibration of the IMU can be performed before use by keeping the sensors in a fixed position and orientation for removal of drift in the sensor bias. This may be performed by averaging readings whilst the sensor remains static for a short period of time before use, for example, before a person attaches the sensor to their head. The processor can be configured to use the calibration data when determining the rotation adjustment data accordingly. Preferably, the sample rate of the one or more monitoring units are set a level which is adequate for data acquisition and capturing of motions, and is optimally set at a sample rate of twice the bandwidth of the expected motion measurements (meeting the Nyquist criterion) and at a level which is suitable for each sensor. With inertial sensors, a higher sample rate is required so that relative sensor measurements are accumulated without loss, Depending on motion measurements, the sample rate of inertia! sensors may be as low as approximately 10Hz or higher than approximately 100Hz, With other sensors such as magnetic sensors, a lower sample rate may be used as these sensors provide an absolute sensor reading and are usually used to support the inertial sensors. As discussed throughout, the one or more monitoring units of the monitoring and control system 9 can transfer measurement signals utilising a wireless communication protocol, such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, WiFi, or a wired communication medium, or a combination thereof, to the processor for generating the rotation adjustment data. In another embodiment, the one or more monitoring units of the monitoring and control system 9 may take the form of electrodes attached to the head 15 of the user 13 and adapted to translate brain waves associated with turning clockwise or anticlockwise as instructions wired or wirelessly to rotate the platform 10 clockwise or anticlockwise, using a process known as electroencephalography, As previously discussed, the processor 138 can be configured to receive station position data 965 in combination with the head rotation data to calculate the rotation adjustment data 935 , In one form, the station position data 965 may be generated by an incremental rotary encoder 960 which in general provides two outputs for sensing of relative motion and direction. The incremental rotary encoder 960 can be provided in the form of quadrature encoder. Alternatively, an encoder 960 may be provided which provides a global position, The encoder 960 could employ mechanical, optical or other means, to determine the station position data and provide a digital or analogue output,

In an alternative arrangement, positional feedback may be determined by use of a sensor such as an inertial or magnetic sensor or system consisting of a combined inertial and magnetic sensor, similarly to determining the roll, pitch, and yaw of the head of the user, by mounting the sensing system to the station. Based on magnetic field interference from actuators/motors, the magnetic sensor could be located in a position to avoid interference by changing magnetic fields, for example on the back of the seat of the user,

Based on the hardware used such as actuators, encoders, and sensors, actuation and sensing could be combined in a single unit (e.g. a motor and encoder combination, such as a servo motor) or may be installed as separate units (e.g. an IMU mounted on the seat/platform independent to the installed actuators). The motor used may consist of a direct current (DC) or an alternating current (AC) electric motor, selected so that it can provide the correct dynamic and static response and drive the expected load of the user and station, Other motor types may be selected for precise control of motor position, such as a stepper motor or a servo motor, Motor control can be performed by a control algorithm implemented by the processor 138, in one form, the control algorithm can be a closed-loop control algorithm suitable for motors with a feedback mechanism and an open-loop control algorithm suited for motor types without a feedback mechanism (e.g. a stepper motor), A commonly used closed-loop control algorithm is referred to as Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) control which applies variable motor control which is tuned for factors such as response time, overshoot, and steady-state enor with respect to the system requirements (e.g. proportional to the speed of head movement). The processor 138 may include a Proportional-Integral- Derivative (PID) controller to control the rotation of the station in response to the change in the angle Φ as the user 13 follows the position of the remote vehicle 1 1 , Power may be supplied to the remote control assembly 10 via a battery 160 (see Figure 2) or via mains electricity. The motor and driving circuitry could be supplied with mains power and a power supply or transformer, or for portability or high current use, combined with a DC power supply such as a battery which could also integrate to a charging system. The frame 56 of the remote control assembly 10 may be made of a non-ferrous or paramagnetic material, such as aluminium, in order to avoid interfering with the operation of the one or more magnetic sensors.

Referring to Figure 13 there is shown a block diagram illustrating a feedback arrangement of the remote control assembly 10. In particular, the one or more controls 70 of the station 3 are operably coupled to one or more haptic actuators 1330 which provide haptic feedback to the user operating the one or more controls 70 of the station. As shown in Figure 12, the model vehicle 1 1 may include one or more sensors 1310 which transfer sensed vehicle measurements, via a control unit 1320 and transmitter/transceiver 1325 mounted to the model vehicle 1 1 , to the processor 138 of the station 3. The processor 1 38 interprets the sensed vehicle measurements to generate haptic control data, The haptic control data is used by the processor 138 to actuate one or more of the haptic actuators 1330 to thereby provide haptic feedback to the user operating the controls 70 of the station 3. For example, in helicopter controls, a nose-down pitch of the helicopter may result in a nose up force on the cyclic stick, a nose up pitch of the helicopter may result in a nose down force on the cyclic stick, a right bank may result in a left bank force on the cyclic stick, and a left bank may result in a right bank force on the cyclic stick. In additional or alternate implementations, the station may also include yaw control so that the station rotates as the model aircraft rotates. Vibratory forces may also be transferred via the one or more haptic actuators 1330 to the one or more controls 70,

The sensors 13 10 mounted on the model vehicle 1 1 may includes inertial sensors or a combination of inertial, magnetic and/or other sensors. In situations where only roll and pitch measurements are required, an inertial sensing system may be mounted to the model vehicle 1 1. The inertial sensing system may include one or more of gyroscopes and accelerometers, However, in more dynamic conditions, the model vehicle sensing system may utilise further measurement which are compensated by an external reference such as magnetic field measurements by a dual-axis or tri-axis magnetometer, or by GPS measurements using a GPS receiver on the model vehicle. In one form, an IMU may be installed upon the model vehicle to record a number of measurements which are transferred to the processor for analysis.

The model vehicle may utilise the existing communication medium which is used to by the remote control unit to control the model vehicle, which is generally a radio communication medium. However, it is also possible for the model vehicle to use another communication medium and/or protocol such as Zigbee, WiFi, or a GSM module.

In an additional or alternative embodiment, visual feedback may be provided to the user from the model vehicle 1 1 . In particular, the model vehicle may have mounted thereto an image capturing unit 131 5 such as a video camera or the like which transfers video data to a receiver/transceiver of the remote control assembly 10, wherein the visual feedback is displayed using a display unit 1 350. The display unit 1350 may be worn by the user or could be mounted in front of the user such as an LCD screen. Additionally, station operation data indicative of the users head tilt or operation of the controls 70 could be transmitted to the model vehicle 1 1 , wherein the data transferred to the model is used by a processor 138 mounted to the model vehicle to control pan and'or tilt of the camera 131 5 which is thus fed back via the video data. It will be appreciated that a servo motor may be mounted to the model vehicle 1 1 and operably connected to the camera to control the movement of the camera in response to the station operation data, It will be appreciated that the video data, the vehicle sensor data and/or the station operation data may be transferred via the same communication medium (i.e. same radio channel) or via dedicated communication mediums (i.e. dedicated radio channels).

Referring to Figure 14, in a further embodiment, signals generated by the radio control unit are transferred, either wirelessly or via a wired .medium, to a processing system 1410 which is capable of running flight simulator software. In this embodiment, the radio transmitter is adapted to output signals that are computer readable to control the simulated aircraft. The flight is viewed on the monitor 1420 as shown in Figure 14,

In an alternative arrangement, the one or more of the controls 70 of the station 3 may be in data communication with the processing system 1410 running the flight simulation software. In one form, the control signals 70 are interfaced to a computer in the form of a standard interface and protocol, such as the Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, and with an appropriate USB device class, such as the USB Human Interface Device (HID) class, which supports various types of devices for interaction with computing equipment and software. In the majority of cases this allows for drivers built into standard operating systems to directly interface to the control systems and platform, and allows software such as flight simulators to function with minimum or without any modifications, If additional functionality is required which is not available in a standard device class such as the USB HID class, then a custom driver and software interface may be developed,

In one form, potentiometers can be attached to the one or more of the controls 70 of the station which sense movements thereof by the user which may be measured by a data acquisition unit, such as an analogue to digital converter, and provided, wirelessly or via wired communication medium, to the processing system running the simulation software. Referring to Figure 15, there is shown a block diagram of a further example of an alternate monitoring and control system 9 of the remote control assembly 10,

In particular, the model vehicle 1 1 has mounted thereto a signal generator unit 1510 which the vehicle monitoring unit 1550 of the remote control assembly 10 monitors. The signal captured by the vehicle monitoring unit 1550 can then be used by the processor 1 38 to determine the existence or the amount of angular offset between the remote control assembly 10 and the model vehicle 1 1 , wherein the processor 1 38 actuates the drive unit 6 to correct the orientation of the station 3, if required, such that the user is placed in a forward facing direction relative to the model vehicle.

A number of different signals 1545 can be generated by a variety of signal generators.

In one form, the signal generator 1540 can be provided as a light source. The vehicle monitoring unit 1550 may be provided in the form of an image capturing unit and is configured to generate the monitoring signal indicative of an existence of or an amount of angular offset between the light source and the station. The light source may be configured to flash. The processor 138 may use image processing to determine how far the light source is offset relative to a centre of the image captured in order to calculate the rotational correction required.

In another form, the signal generator 1540 may be an audio source, The vehicle monitoring unit 1550, provided in the form of a microphone, can be configured to capture an audio signal generated by the audio source' and generates the monitoring signal indicative of an existence of or an amount of angular offset between the audio source and the station.

In another form, the signal generator 1540 includes an electromagnetic transmitter unit for transmitting an electromagnetic signal indicative of a position of the platform 1505. The vehicle monitoring unit may have an electromagnetic receiver unit 1550 which captures the electromagnetic signal and generates the model vehicle signal indicative of an existence of or an amount of angular offset between the audio , source and the station. In some forms the electromagnetic signal is an infrared signal, a radio signal or a light signal as discussed above,

In a further variation, the vehicle monitoring unit 1550 may include one or more image capture units which capture image data indicative of the model vehicle 1 1 . Image processing can then be performed upon the image data by the processor 138 to determine if an angular offset exists between the station 3 and the model vehicle 1 1 , If an angular offset exists, the processor 138 actuates the drive unit 6 to correct the orientation of the station 3 such that the user is placed in a forward facing orientation relative to the model vehicle 1 1 , In this embodiment, it is not necessary for the model vehicle 1 1 to include a signal generator, although it will be appreciated that the signal generator embodiments described above can provide more accuracy if background noise exists,

In another embodiment, the station 3 may include a plurality of actuators which are operably connected to the seat of the station to adjust the pitch and/or roll, in addition to the rotation (i.e. yaw) of the seat, The plurality of actuators may be controlled by the processor 138. In particular, the remote control assembly may include a second drive unit, operably coupled to the processor, for adjusting the pitch of the station, and a third drive unit, operably coupled to the processor, for adjusting the roll of the station, The processor 138 is configured to actuate at least one of the second and third drive units in accordance with at least one of the model vehicle sensor data generated by sensors 131 0, and actuation of the one or more station controls 70, In such an implementation additional feedback mechanisms to sense the pitch and/or roll of the seat/platform are required. This could also be achieved using additional encoders and the inclusion of additional actuators such as motors. :

In a further variation, the station can include a dual seat platform (not shown). Each user has their own set of controls which can be individually operated, Many modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.