A simulated perspective view of a landscape is provided on a video display screen used, for example in a video game where a player by means of manual control seeks out various moving targets on the landscape. Specifically, the perspective is achieved by converging the landscape toward the top of the display screen. This is done from a vertical standpoint by distorting in a concave manner the vertical drive voltage. From a horizontal line standpoint a change of horizontal line length is accomplished by a voltage controlled oscillator which has an output frequency which controls readout of video display data. In addition, each line of the specific image is formed by segments and defined by binary bytes to specify either color or level of gray in one portion and the length of the segment in the other.

A method and means for generating a synthetic terrain which is displayed on the screen of a cathode ray tube as a simulated landscape visible to an observer, and for use in conjunction with a vehicle simulator to provide a moving perspective view of a landscape. The scanning beam of the cathode ray tube is modulated with a video signal which is representative of the visual characteristics of the landscape at a point which at any instant is defined by the intersection of the line of sight passing from the observer's eye through the instantaneous scanning point on the cathode ray tube screen with the plane of the simulated landscape.

A night visual aircraft system receives flight data from an aircraft simulator, and ground light data from the gaming area data base. A computer within the night visual system organizes this image data by frame in a buffer memory according to a particular format of addresses, sequences, and bit places. The following types of image data are uniquely positioned in the format: A position vector (Vp), defining the changing position of the aircraft with respect to the terrain data origin. Rotational matrix data defining the changing attitude of the aircraft with respect to the axes of the terrain coordinate system. Light source position data defining the position of terrain lights with respect to the origin of the terrain data. Cif data, defining the direction, color, intensity, option code, and defocus (size) of individual lights. An image processor receives the formatted image data and translates and rotates to correspond to the perspective of the simulated pilot view, maintaining the directional aspect of the lights. The data is then projected into two-dimension display vectors. An image generator receives the display vectors and other image data to provide analog inputs to a CRT device mounted as a window display in the simulated aircraft.

The devices for the simulation include Several video signal generators each of which brightening on a monitor one light spot pair representing two road border posts, An analog deflection voltage generator for the horizontal and vertical shifting and for the width and height alteration of said light spots, using an evaluation matrice, integrators, and digitally actuated electronic switches, An analog computing device for the computation of the speed signal, simulating a decreasing rotation-torque characteristic, Several curve function generators which generate standard curves on triggering by a digital curve sequence program generator, A curvature function generator which generates an additional voltage proportional to the curvature of the road and used for comparison with the steering wheel angle, the difference being supplied to a horizontal shifting control device, Oscillators for the generation of noises, to which the rotation signal, the signal of excessive centrifugal acceleration, and an error signal are supplied, and An additional video signal generator as well as an additional sequence program generator, for the generation of an obstacle.

The driver training simulator system of the present invention includes a visual display system and a student station. The student station has simulated automotive control elements such as a steering wheel, brake pedal, accelerator pedal, etc. The visual display system includes an arrangement for presenting images to the student, for example it may include a motion picture projector and an associated display screen. The images which are presented to the student include a plurality of separate sections. Each of the separate sections of the image is recorded by a separate camera. One of the sections of the image presented to the student is a conventional front looking "driver point of view" image, that is, the image that a driver would see looking through his front windshield. Another section of the images consists of images that were recorded by one or more cameras which were facing rearward. The student is therefore simultaneously presented with a forward looking "driver point of view image" and with one or more images representing what one would see looking toward the rear of the vehicle. Since these different views were independently filmed, they can be independently edited and arranged to produce the optimum pedagogical effect.