Raven-6DoF is the world’s only development kit for custom Stewart platform designers that provides a flexible, simple to use and cost effective solution with unmatched, best in class features. The Raven Motion Platform Development Kit provides unparalleled 6 Degree of Freedom performance to a wide range of custom platform geometries that cannot be matched by standard off-the-shelf products.

Hardware designers can customize the motion envelope to suit their application, electrical designers can omit high voltage transformers and infrastructure, and software designers will enjoy the response time and feature set of the fully integrated motion control.

Highlights

Direct Drive Magnetic 6 Degrees of Freedom
Wide Range of Base and Top Geometries
350 kg Payload
230 mm Actuator Stroke
48 V DC Battery operation 

Kit Contents

6 Orca Series 15-48V Intelligent Linear Motors
SuperEagle FPGA Powered Motion Controller
6-DoF Kinematic Controller Software
Reference Design CADs and Bill of Materials

Designers can control the layout of motors to achieve the optimal motion envelope for their application, knowing the kinematic math is already solved and ready to run with ultra low latency. Entering the measurements of the motor mounting location is all that’s needed to realize a new geometry. 

6 Electromagnetic motors laid out in various geometries forming 6 Degree of Freedom motion platforms.

Raven-6DoF Supports Multiple Actuator Geometries to Suit any Application

VR integrators know how important ultralow latency is. The Motion Controller’s cores provide that quickness. 

4110 Hz That’s how quickly the forward and inverse kinematics and washouts are resolved.
<2 ms The latency, including communications and calculations for all six motors, is kept below 2 milliseconds.
±0.1 mm The accuracy on surge, sway, and heave motions.

Built with Iris Dynamics’ Orca Series linear motors, Raven-6DoF is a reference design that allows development of Stewart platforms for simulation, training, and teleoperation applications that can be customized to end user’s exact requirements. The Raven-6DoF Motion Platform Development Kit includes a reference mechanical design using six Orca15-48V linear motors, a FPGA powered motor controller, kinematic models, and bill of materials with recommended suppliers for all components needed to assemble the complete platform.

A man sits on a motion platform wearing a VR headset and handling a helicopter cyclic and collective.

A Helicopter Training Application In Action

What Iris Dynamics Provides Iris Dynamics can provide assistance with the design and manufacturing of the initial platform and assistance with the integration of Raven-6DoF with the end user application. Once initial design is finalized, Iris Dynamics will provide the full design and manufacturing package to be produced in volume by the customer.
What Platform Designers Provide Complete platform manufacturing services and development of applications such as simulation software are not provided. A network of providers that can assist with manufacturing and integration is being established.

The final application will dictate the geometry of the platform and how the simulation software will be developed. A training simulation application may have a different design to an immersive entertainment application – Raven-6DoF is designed to suit both.

Six Orca15-48V high performance smart linear motors provide accurate and efficient motions in a compact and silent package.

RELATED READING: Smart Linear Motors: Explained

Extremely Quiet

No gears or spinning parts, just high performance bushings and stainless steel shafts. Less noise in the system means less ambient noise experienced by the platform operator and passenger.

Low Voltage

Forget about high voltage, high wattage infrastructure. Raven-6DoF Kits require only a 48 V battery and a 300 W charger which can be plugged into a standard wall outlet. The platform will likely draw less power from the wall than the computer running the simulated world. 

Closeup of Orca15-48 on Raven platform

 

Orca Series Linear Motors Power Raven-6DoF

Integrated Force Sensing

Each Orca Series motor is force sensing,
meaning simulation rider movement can be
fed back into the simulation, increasing
immersion

Long Lifetime with High Frequency Response

Built to outlast and outperform ballscrew actuators. Reliable components means less maintenance is required for Raven-6DoF based motion platforms. This is especially true when using a platform to play vibrations on top of normal movements.

Integrated Sensors

Contactless position and force sensing achieve sub 1 mm and sub 10 grams accuracy respectively. These parameters are analysed more than 3000 times per second.

High Power Efficiency

Optimised magnetic geometries and high quality components keep the platform power draw and temperatures low allowing for longer run times. A unique power management design means the platform only sips power and is perfect for installations with unreliable AC mains.

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What is the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

The Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit is a development kit that uses Iris’s proprietary magnetic linear motors to enable custom Stewart platform designers the best possible performance available. It provides the lowest latency, the highest accuracy, and the lowest power draw from the wall of any human sized 6-DoF.

What are the key features of the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

The Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit features fully integrated direct drive “non-contact” linear magnetic motors. These enable very high frequency response, and very low latency. These systems also consume very little power (typically with a peak of no more than 300W from the wall). It negates the need for a platform motion tracking solution (for head set motion delegation) and can be designed to operate fully off grid and can be built with a wide range of base and top geometries.

What does the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit include?

The kit includes 6 Orca Series 15-48V Smart Linear Motors, a SuperEagle FPGA Powered Motion Controller, 6-DoF Kinematic Controller Software, and reference design CADs, build instructions, and Bill of Materials.

What is the role of the SuperEagle FPGA Powered Motion Controller in the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

The SuperEagle FPGA Powered Motion Controller provides ultra-low latency for forward and inverse kinematics and washouts, which are resolved at 4110 Hz. The latency, including communications and calculations for all six motors, is kept below 2 milliseconds.

What is the accuracy of the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

The accuracy on surge, sway, and heave motions is ±0.1 mm.

How does the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit support multiple actuator geometries?

The Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit allows designers to control the layout of motors to achieve the optimal motion envelope for their application. Entering the measurements of the motor mounting location is all that’s needed to realize a new geometry.

What is the payload capacity of the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

The Reference Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit has a payload capacity of 350kg. Custom geometries may bring this number up or down.

What is the actuator stroke of the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

The standard Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit has an actuator stroke of 230 mm.

What is the power requirement of the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

The Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit operates on a 48V DC battery. Iris recommends LiFePO4 cells from companies such as Big Battery or Lithium Werks. These batteries directly power the Raven, and are then “generally” left attached to an AC charger which keeps the batteries topped up from AC Mains. A typical reference install would be equipped with a 300W charger, meaning draw from the wall would be no more than 300W.

How quiet is the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

The Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit is extremely quiet as it has no gears or spinning parts, just high-performance bushings and stainless steel shafts. Acoustic levels will fluctuate based on the movement that the platform is doing, however in general expected sound from a platform would be well under 30 dBA, and in many cases will be <20 dBA.

 

What is the integrated force sensing feature of the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

Each Orca Series motor in the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit is force sensing, meaning simulation rider movement can be fed back into the simulation, potentially used as an input

What are the integrated sensors in the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

The Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit has integrated contactless position and force sensing based on contactless magnetic field sensing.

What kind of applications can the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit be used for?

The Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit can be used for simulation, training, and teleoperation applications that can be customized to end user’s exact requirements.

What kind of assistance does Iris Dynamics provide for the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

Iris Dynamics can provide assistance with the design and manufacturing of the initial platform and assistance with the integration of Raven-6DoF with the end user application.

Can the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit be customized?

Yes, the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit is a reference design that allows development of Stewart platforms that can be customized to end user’s exact requirements.

How does the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit contribute to immersive experiences?

The Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit contributes to immersive experiences by providing ultra-low latency and high accuracy, which are crucial for VR integrators.

What is the power management design of the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

The Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit has a unique power management design that means the platform only sips power and is perfect for installations with unreliable AC mains.

How does the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit handle vibrations?

The Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit is built to outperform ballscrew actuators, especially when using a platform to play vibrations on top of normal movements. High amplitude vibrations up to 20 Hz, and more subtle vibrations in the 100's of Hz are possible.

What is the response time of the Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit?

The Raven 6-DoF VR Motion Platform Kit has a response time of less than 2 milliseconds, including communications and calculations for all six motors.