Magnetic Levitation System Simulation in Virtual Reality

Abstract

This work documents the process of development of an interactive and dynamic magnetic levitation system that operates within the virtual reality environment. The first part of the thesis provides a definition of the tasks this project is meant to accomplish as well as an introductory overview of the software tools used during the development of this application : primarily Unreal Engine and Simulink. Most of the thesis documents the development process of the application and the thought process behind certain design decisions. The reader is also introduced to the variety of inherent software limitation problems faced when attempting to build an accurate dynamic model within a game engine environment. Throughout the course of the development, some existing code solutions for particular problems from similar projects by other university students were borrowed and implemented within this application. The majority of the work was done within the Unreal Engine game engine, which has inbuilt support for virtual reality. This, in turn, allows the end user to interact with the control system in a capacity similar to reality.