Iris Dynamics Linear Motors / 6 DoF Kit

I was looking back into these guys to see what they were up to and they have morphed again using their motor and control technology. Posted about them here before because of their force feedback yoke Kickstarter and then their force feedback sticks that can simulate virtually anything depending on configuration in their control software. Gated shifters with virtual gates, etc. Now they are making pretty amazing linear motors perfect for 6 dof setups and they have a 6 dof “kit”.

https://irisdynamics.com/products/raven/

And have a bit to say about subtracting motion platform motions from head motions.

https://irisdynamics.com/vr_training_entertainment/

I don’t find prices but I’m sure they are significant, but looks like extremely fast, essentially silent, and have motor logic and configurability out the wazoo. The motors can simulate vibrations on top of motions too.

Hey Zed, thanks! (I'm from Iris).

Re pricing: it does depend a bit but yes, they are still on the expensive side. We have "kits" (motors, controllers, and reference mechanical design) from ~50K and going down to ~25K in volume. We do occasionally do assembled platforms as well (and I think for human sized systems we are quoting something like ~60K-100K depending on options) Motors themselves (in single unit pricing) are $3900 to ~$5K (depending on motor size, stroke length, and a few other options.) All with some major price brakes at volume.

At the moment the kits are really targeted at OEMs building "application specific" motion platforms for things like training, equipment stabilization, lab use, etc.

We have a bit of a write up for how we do IKM & FKM here. But ya, essentially you get a nice and snappy data stream into unity/whatever with the platforms position being resolved on an embedded FPGA which is also where you can play around with washout, cueing etc. It has pre-built acceleration cueing & washout models if you just want to get up and running but if you have your own models you're developing you can totally use those as well (either on the FPGA, or with directly streamed position data if you really want to get into the weeds).

Since they are all direct drive and have onboard controllers, and since we are doing this all on an FPGA we can process frames WAY faster than "most" people are able to throw data at it (I think we are at ~4kHz currently when using onboard processing). Total latency is also <2ms so (we think) its a pretty ideal platform for anyone doing research into motion sickness, etc. We are pretty confident in saying this is probably the fastest, lowest latency, and most accurate human scale platform out there.

Promo clip: .

And another obligatory clip of a motor: https://youtube.com/shorts/nBjKPJhKw2g?feature=share

Happy to answer any questions!

Thanks for the reply and links, @WalkerYYJ! Sorry it took so long to reply. Your motors look amazing and check so many boxes. Two big ones for me are noise levels and speed. The price is a rough one, though.

Is Iris looking at a lower cost line that maybe isn’t quite as capable except for maybe weight/load? That direct drive technology is very seductive but I can’t justify it at the prices you mentioned except maybe the large volume pricing. Ever run sales?

A small, quiet 6 dof platform would be amazing for my purposes.

Hey, just curious about conventions here- when it says "heave 277mm", is that +/-277 from a neutral point, e.g. 554mm of total travel? Or 277 mm of total travel?

I had to think about that. Pitch I would assume to be +/- 21 deg from level, 42 deg total travel. But I don't have a feel for the linear axes convention

Iris Dynamics released ORCA-3 a few months back.

Maybe finally a magnetic actuator that is somewhat reasonable priced?

Introducing the New ORCA-3

ORCA-3: Newest Linear Actuator Featuring High Speeds, Compact Design, and Affordability

<$1000 a piece, when ordered in volume

Still costly, but seem rather awesome? Or am I missing something?

Something that can be considered for a group-buy perhaps, if it is suitable?

AFAIKS the strongest ORCA actuator only has 174N max. continous force. That's way too low to build anything serious where you like to spend $1000 per actuator. Wasn't your requirement 2,5kN in the other thread? That's a bit exaggerated IMHO and something around 1kN would probably be enough for the average rig.

I didnt look too closely at the specs.. and for now I depend on Grok to tell me what I need anyway.

just threw out the new info a out the Orca-3.

(parts have been ordered.. will update the other thread)

I would like to revive this thread. I also find these linear motors very interesting and have contacted IRIS Dynamics and received individual prices.
Regarding “Aerosmith's” objections about the low holding force of only 174 N (approx. 18 kg weight), the specifications in the 6-DOF kit state a possible total weight of 350 kg. That is just under 60 kg per motor/actuator with a total of 6 actuators. There is a reference to a pneumatic support system that compensates for static gravity, leaving the ORCA motors to handle only the dynamics.
This would mean that the motors could be used if the weight is balanced and the rig/simulator is neutralized in terms of gravity. Constant force springs or gas pressure springs with a low R value could be used here.
How about controlling the ORCA motors? Would a plugin have to be written for this, or is there already one in the Simmtools universe that could be used for this purpose?

Sorry, I don't want to discourage you. The basic idea is good but 174N per actuator is definitely not sufficient, even with gas spring support. It will move but if you spend a lot of money you surely have some expectations and want acceptable performance and some reserve for g-forces of at least 1g.

I'd suggest using high torque motors and go for a gear-less rotary actuator design, similar to what ark-dynamics did with customized hooverboard motors. But I'd use motors from Chinese agricultural drones. Used motors are very cheap on Aliexpress. The only problem is that they are designed for low voltage and high current so it's difficult to find a suitable servo driver. Maybe one could modify the windings and connect them in series instead of parallel.

Am I misunderstanding something? 174 N is the continuous holding force, 1061 N is specified as the maximum force, i.e., available for a short time. To me, that means a motor can briefly (however long that may be) exert a force of approx. 100 kg and move something. When I watch their videos about the 6-DOF platform, there are scenes where a slightly heavier person is moved quite quickly along with the equipment.

Ah sorry, yes you're right. >1000N should be enough for accelerations in all directions. So you only have to make sure that the weight is balanced and the static force is below 174N per actuator.