Research on operating simulation system for tower crane based on virtual reality

Abstract

Virtual reality technology has become a hot research spot and been widely used in many industries such as education, military, entertainment and medical science. This paper analyses some key technologies of virtual reality application on tower crane operating simulation system with tower crane operating characteristics, including the virtual semi-physical model construction of tower cranes based on three-dimensional optical measurement, scene realization and multi-channel screen display of tower crane operation high above the ground, virtual dynamics simulation and motion trajectory planning of tower body and wire rope and lifting weight in case of multi-load, virtual assembly for installation and uprise and destruction of tower crane, expert system of examination simulation and fault reproduce and so on. The paper also describes the difficulties in implementation and study process compared with the bridge (door) crane virtual operating system which has been put into application. Finally the next research is proposed aimed at current needs of safe operation of tower cranes. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.