SIMNET Technical Overview

SIMNET is powered by the Typhon Physics Engine, a proprietary drone analysis and simulation software crafted by aerospace and computer engineers over the course of 8 years of development and validation.

With the Typhon Physics Engine, users can construct a complete and customizable model of virtually any fixed-wing, multicopter, or VTOL drone, by combining more than 15 different parametric components.

Typhon Physics Engine Component Types

Airframe:
- Wing
- Airfoil
- Fuselage
- Structural Component
- Wheel
- Recovery Parachute

Propulsion:
- Propeller
- Brushless Motor
- Speed Controller
- Lithium Polymer Battery
- Internal Combustion Engine
- Fuel Tank

Controls:
- Flight Controller
- Mixer
- Servo
- Hinge

Payload:
- Payload Mass
- Stabilized Camera

The Typhon Engine incorporates multidisciplinary physics-based simulation and analysis algorithms to predict the overall performance of the aircraft, as well as simulate its flight dynamics in real-time as the model is created and modified.

Aerodynamics Engine

Mass Engine

Dynamics Engine

Typhon Physics Engine

Performance Engine

Controls Engine

The following table provides an overview of the various algorithms used by the engine. The algorithms are selected from published resources following the criteria of selecting the highest fidelity algorithms that can run on real-time.

Typhon Physics Engine Physics Model Overview

Model Category	Model Scope	Model Description
Environmental Simulation	Wind Simulation	Simulation of steady and/or stochastic wind conditions and turbulent gusts
Environmental Simulation	Terrain Simulation	Worldwide 3D terrain model based on satellite imagery and terrain elevation data
Flight Simulation	---	Six degree of freedom flight simulation model accounting for gyroscopic forces running at 400 Hz
Flight Control Simulation	---	Software In The Loop (SITL) simulation of 3rd-party flight control systems including Ardupilot, PX4, and VTOL OS