Modern CAD/CAE allows supporting the process of design and construction at many stages, from concept development through specific engineering calculations to the creation of design documentation. In the case of constructing mechanisms, the kinematic and dynamic analysis of the proposed system is an important step in the introduced process. The paper presents an example of the kinematic and dynamic analysis of the Stewart platform using Siemens NX software [1, 2]. The conducted investigation has allowed determining the geometric characteristics of the mechanism of the Stewart platform as well as the geometric parameters of actuators and their location. A dynamic analysis of the platform helped with establishing the required motor forces for realizing the moves with the maximum speed and acceleration. This allowed the initial selection of the parameters of electric motors. Traffic analysis was also performed for investigating collisions between the parts of the hexapod and between the hexapod and its environment.

The study outlines the geometric analysis of motions executed by the Stewart platform and operated in the environment of a simulator for driving learning to be used by disabled people. The analysis was carried out on the basis of results obtained from the resolved kinematic problem for the inversed platform.

The paper presents the implementations of the control algorithm of a virtual system (Stewart platform) in the CAD/CAE system (Siemens NX) and in the NI LabVIEW supervisory and control system. The combination of both systems enables the virtual simulation and presentation of the results in relation to the chosen in the work virtual model of the Stewart platform. The virtual model of the Stewart platform with the imposed constraints and mobility limitations was built in the Siemens NX CAD/CAE system. Each of the modeled elements is based on the real components of the car simulator prepared for the persons with mobility impairments. The chosen model of a Stewart platform is a system with six degrees of freedom that is often used to build various types of simulators (e.g. flight, car). Using the NI LabVIEW software, a mathematical model of the Stewart platform was built and inverse kinematics task was implemented in relation to the model of the platform. The created mathematical model that describes the behavior of the Stewart platform was used to determine the inputs to the control system of platform actuators.

The study outlines the method for integration of a 3D model of a robot manipulating mechanism with its phantom. Robots are usually programmed by means of their control panels (teachpendants) or with use of relevant software dedicated for programming aid (e.g. Robcad). An alternative method for programming of robots may consist in application of a tangible robot model (a phantom) that is dedicated for programming FANUC ARCMate100iB robots. The phantom is used as a real object that enforces defined positions for individual members of the manipulator virtual model. For that purpose a model of a real robot manipulator was constructed at the 1:4 scale with use of the fast prototyping methods and the model was subsequently used as the enforcing object. Since accurate potentiometers were installed on each of the manipulator rotation axis the information about specific angular positions of the individual members of the manipulator could be provided.

This work presents ideas for a passenger car driving simulator for teaching the disabled. The functional structure, design assumptions, and the concept and operation of the proposed simulator are presented.