This 1970s tank simulator drives through a tiny world

At the Swiss Military Museum in Full, there's the last remaining example of a 1970s tank-driving simulator. But there's no virtual worlds here: it's connected to a real camera and a real miniature model. ■ More about the museum: www.festungsmu...
Camera: Tobias Buchmann
Producer: Sebastian Capeda at Viven viven.ch
Editor: www.davestevens...
Audio mix: Dan Pugsley cassinisound.com (my microphone failed inside the very noisy simulator, he did an incredible job!)
🟥 MORE FROM TOM: www.tomscott.com/
(you can find contact details and social links there too)
📰 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with good stuff from the rest of the internet: www.tomscott.c...
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👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: / techdif

[@TomScottGo]

Just in case I haven't been plugging it enough: I have a new podcast! It's called Lateral, it's about interesting questions, and the first episode is available right now, here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4jcpKh8nZWVhMk

[@JohnJohnJohnJohnJohnJohnJohnJo]

Ok

[@jupiter_ios]

Tomy hilficker

[@abdihassan7208]

No

[@jupiter_ios]

3

[@jupiter_ios]

e

[@BirdmanDeuce26]

I love that it took Tom less than a few seconds to go directly from "I should be on the correct side of the road" to *I'M A TANK*

[@jamesduncan6729]

🤣🤣🤣

[@Cacowninja]

Tom get out of the tank!

[@falconerd343]

You ARE the correct side of the road!

[@daskampffredchen]

Its a literal trump card. You cant beat Tank

[@AtariEric]

@@daskampffredchen A-10 Warthogs: "Knock knock."

[@HolowatyVlogs]

Driving a tiny camera around a set is the coolest concept for a simulator that I’ve ever seen!

[@squirlmy]

Maybe you're young, because this idea was obvious back in the 70s and earlier. The idea of a computer simulation would be the novel concept back then.

[@n2killu]

I hope it catches on again in the future

[@HuatengChen]

Nowadays it's much easier. Tiny WiFi cameras are easy to buy and cheap. Strap it to a small RC car/tank, put on VR headset and off you go!

[@BrianMcKee]

@@HuatengChen I'm sure the latency for this simulator is near 0 due to the analog nature of it which helps the realism dramatically. Not actually that easy to do a 1 to 1 in the modern era.

[@markraymond]

It's how the Apollo simulators worked as well :)

[@jackeea_]

There's something about seeing this massive training simulator from the 70s, thinking how much technological effort must have gone into programming a computer to have an entire map and to simulate what being in a tank would feel like from it... and then "We rebuilt it on a Raspberry Pi". Just goes to show how far computers have come, I guess...

[@ionstorm66]

Think of how much work went into programming all the ground info. He said it had memory of the entire map and what the ground was like to simulate that. That had to all be done by hand, EPROM and eeprom were bleeding edge in the 1970s.

[@NoVIcE_Source]

True

[@shubhamuraon3552]

When he said Raspberry Pi I was literally shook

[@stuc.6592]

I once saw something very similar for the Hawker Harrier - they had two huge rooms with mockups of scenery and a mobile camera gantry over the top.

[@catagris]

The cool part is it doesn't know the map, it is all analog singles from the metal slid on the arm.

[@nunyabisyness5448]

That’s exactly how I learned to drive a tank in 1980. In Germany. The instructors even put action figures on the map. Was super fun

[@flyinglawnmower7457]

Geil :D

[@xx-morel-xx]

were you in west Germany or east? cuz I'm Czech and my dad was training around that time as well and they just drove real tanks here, he lost part of his finger loading a tank the wrong way actually, anyway im just curious if these were purely a western thing or if they had these in the east block as well

[@nunyabisyness5448]

@@xx-morel-xx It was in the west. And we did 10 days of simulators and then 3 or 4 days real tank.

[@xx-morel-xx]

@@nunyabisyness5448 ok, thanks!

[@aarononeil9832]

I have to ask.... did anyone run over the tiny people figures on purpose?

[@Gnoccy]

Until a few years ago I worked for a company that build military flight simulators. The older guys told us about how the simulators used to look very similar to this one: With a model plate and a camera moving over it. An interesting anecdote is that apparently spiders loved to crawl into the cupboard the plates were stored in and surprise the pilots. From the perspective of the camera they would look like hundreds of meters tall monsters.

[@ApothecaryTerry]

Ha, they should have put a spider on this for Tom, would have been hilarious 😂

[@fastertrackcreative]

Hehe

[@saulerius]

hundreds of meters seem like a joke, considering how big houses are compared to a regular spider

[@Techstriker1]

Aliens: "We can't invade that planet, they've trained for everything! Even fighting giant spiders in tanks!"

[@ProbablyRv]

@@saulerius " *from the perspective of the camera* ..."

[@pixel_vengeur391]

"We had to rebuild that on a Raspberry Pi" This puts things in perspective

[@JohnADoe-pg1qk]

They probably had to expand the number of GPIO pins.

[@kalletaimi5094]

It really does. I use a Pi to control a 3D-printer, and I often forgot how to powerful they are. The people who built this simulator would have blown their mind if they had seen Rasperrys on 70’s.

[@dhupee]

@@kalletaimi5094 klipper?

[@paddington1670]

the computer that originally controlled this simulator was probably big and heavy enough that it needed to be moved with a fork lift.

[@lancewhite1477]

Probably something like a PDP-11.

[@natheniel]

i really like the editorial choice of ending the video with the old veteran saying "it's like a game but this job is NOT a game", gave me goosebumps.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

His disposition made that line very powerful.

[@irkkunen4933]

@Caleb OKAY Maybe we will see a U.S Army Classified mod pack popping up one day? War thunder players seem to have all the fun with classified information.

[@daniellee100]

@Caleb OKAY It was called VATSIM right? I played the hell out of Arma 2 and remember friends telling me that The Army had its own secret version

[@RFC-3514]

To put it in persepctive, though, this is a "veteran" in a country that opted to stay neutral (and actually profit from) WWII.

[@irkkunen4933]

@@DingDingTheKZbinBuddy Just question the existence of a U.S military mod and I'm sure that in 4 business days you'll get linked a new workshop page.

[@thesidneychan]

Hearing that it's running on a raspberry pi is the biggest flex for the pi foundation.

[@eageraurora879]

I bet they could have run some of the earliest Apollo missions using a raspberry pi.

[@jwadaow]

@@eageraurora879 perhaps they should create a special Pi for use in outer space?

[@argynews2825]

@@eageraurora879not sure if your joking or not but they quite literally used a raspberry pie for most of them

[@jakubsebek]

​@@argynews2825 The pie that was founded in 2012?

[@IARRCSim]

@@argynews2825 Pi not pie.

[@sheilaross1449]

I'm a miniaturist and through the whole video I couldn't stop thinking about what a fun project it would have been to build that little model village.

[@steveheist6426]

It could still be a fun project. Nothing's stopping you from building a model village :D

[@sarowie]

@@steveheist6426 yes, but imagine being in the military and someone seriously asks you to build a model village. And then you seriously have to "repair" your village/tress, because someone in some sense of the meaning has driven a tank into you tree. Or the commander needs a difficult terrain and a tank driver seriously sketches out a path and specification and you and the guy in all seriousness build an obstacle course. (meanwhile, other serve guard duty - 5 days a week, 24 hours. - saturday and sunday are not defended)

[@sheilaross1449]

@@steveheist6426 true, but my house is already overflowing with clutter and I'm still working on the same dollhouse I got two years ago. Not to mention my other hobbies. Still, one wonders - who got to build that thing? A soldier? A hobbyist (miniaturist or model railroad enthusiast) someone knew at the time? Someone's kid?

[@squirlmy]

No military organization I know of would stoop to the embarassment of having it built by "a kid". It's the military! Not a hobbyist project! SMH 😋

[@sheilaross1449]

@@sarowie I am now picturing this entire scenario and getting an unreasonable amount of joy from it.

[@starrycrystals8]

The enthusiasm Tom has for simulators is impeccable. He's such a great inspiration that now I really want to try this tank simulator myself.

[@khalilahd.]

Lmfao same actually 😅

[@azgarogly]

Go Swiss, I guess. It has something to see except tank simulator.

[@Genius_at_Work]

Certainly has. Sadly, my Invitation to check out the new Ship Engine Room Simulator at my Maritime Academy didn't get past his Management. Things might have been different if I contacted Tom Scott himself.

[@acarriere30]

Personally this is more advanced then our simulator game because your in a moving box instead of a none moving chair...

[@someduckwithanultimax6549]

I got to try this thing a couple of years ago, it’s incredibly fun!

[@imperiumderstimme3331]

I really liked the tank guide's last sentences: "Here it's like a game. This job is not a game."

[@Chaosfred]

Agreed, the word "this job" actually could referred to many actually: Keeping the museum, restoring/maintaining the simulator, as the tank coach or as the tank driver itself. All of these are not a "game", a serious life matters.

[@mso1ps4]

@@Chaosfred War isn't a game

[@NicolaiWeitkemper]

Considering war drones etcetera, this statement has aged very "well".

[@sam8404]

@@mso1ps4 I don't think they were saying it is.

[@fujifilm5127]

It looks like a game, it feels like a game and is a game. But this is not a game.

[@nice_gamerlb3302]

The Raspberry Pi part was so unexpected. „Yes this was the most advanced Technologie of the time. But it can also be recreated on this device programmers use in their free time for fun“

[@dora_thedestroyer]

technology*

[@CCISolitude]

That was my response as well :)

[@zythe9876]

@@dora_thedestroyer ok grammar police

[@dora_thedestroyer]

@@zythe9876 Use correct punctuation, and always start your sentence with a capital letter.

[@TheRealRusDaddy]

This tank sim ran so that other tech could walk

[@rayanderson5797]

As a lover of miniatures and dioramas, this is just the coolest, cutest thing.

[@nickkohlmann]

This!

[@tramnguyenduy954]

ok

[@cheesecake2089]

Happy 1k!

[@EnchantedSmellyWolf]

Absolutely agree. 😊

[@HubertCumbadale02]

They need a Warhammer 40k version 🙂

[@eslai]

I wish there had been more footage of the scene down at ground level in the miniature world, that looks fascinating!

[@DaxianPreston]

Absolutely. I was hoping someone had also said this. 👍

[@KevinJDildonik]

Bump. Would love a "drive around town" from the model.

[@fastertrackcreative]

Ditto

[@LochyP]

Whole video was a bit short

[@OperationDarkside]

If it intrigued you enough, maybe visit the museum yourself 👍

[@jay_fp5019]

I recall the "urban simulator legends" about the instructor suddenly ending the lesson part and getting the student to chase the random "giant spider" (which is what they would have looked like through the magnification lens) across the model landscape

[@livingonthetyne]

haha I can imagine that, classic. :D

[@AlexApol]

"giant enemy spider" starts playing. That is an awesome bit of info.

[@suburban-mech2107]

Contact. Spider. 200 meters. Baring 345.

[@Lizlodude]

*brings pet bearded dragon* So for today's lesson...

[@kylejscheffler]

@@Lizlodude BLUE OYSTER CULT INTENSIFIES

[@themainman2827]

Now you know it. If youre in Switzerland and have a tank, you are allowed to drive in the middle of the road.

[@IemonandIime]

It's less that you're allowed to and more that no one can stop you 😂

[@rgerber]

I think with a tank there isn't really a "side"

[@tankythemagnorite9855]

Same in any country. Except America, where every civilian is armed with anti-tank weaponry, for "preservation of freedom"

[@DestroyerWill]

I’ll tell Rommel

[@elijahrobinson2362]

If you are ANYWHERE, you CAN drive a tank in the middle of the road. Or anywhere else you want. Who is going to make you move?

[@ElizabethSwims]

Thank you for bringing the world to us

[@magic_cfw]

The real sized one or the miniature one?

[@neoneinar5761]

Well said & agreed!

[@fran7947]

That's so wholesome, I feel the same

[@khunsunai2551]

@@fran7947 Why you left me to get tortured ? I was forced to escape by myself and passed out in the woods. I am now in a mental hospital and is about to escape. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@podulox]

If only a tiny bit of it >_

[@thomasmacdonough288]

This is such a cool concept. Miniatures and dioramas are always so cool to look at, but to actually be *in* one? That's a world I'd like to live in.

[@SadButter]

The way you phrase it makes it sound like a Twilight Zone episode.

[@LRM12o8]

I wanna go there just for that :D

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

@@SadButter the book "On The Blue Comet" takes that concept, it's a good book.

[@nickkohlmann]

Same here. Miniature builder.

[@travis4948]

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

[@caput_in_astris]

I am living 30 minutes from this place and had no idea this would exist?! Just stepping out of the simulator right now at it was indeed amazing!!! Many thanks for having it make me know it !! 😊

[@sugarfree5055]

i live 5 min away from it, also didnt know they had this :D

[@mancbiker17]

Oh you lucky guy. I’d love to try this ! 🥰

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

@@sugarfree5055 Have you guys tried it by now?

[@caput_in_astris]

@@mancbiker17 Yes it was indeed very much worth it. 😀 In particular, there are great people that will explain you during ca. 20 minutes and in demo tank, how to drive a tank - before you step into the simulator. Not so easy at all (two engines, 6 gears, need to pay constant attention to RPM etc) but really fun! Cost 40 CHF (= ca 40 $ / 40 €). But now they have closed until April 2023 so need to be patient if you wish to try it….

[@berserkasaurusrex4233]

Can you film the view and post it, cause that's the only thing I clicked this video for and there's hardly any POV shots. I want to know what it actually looks like.

[@bobbyrayvictory6905]

I'm so glad these guys went through the pain of putting this back together and getting it functional. This is so awesome

[@theworm7156]

Off a raspberry pi

[@jaytravis2487]

This is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. I wish there was a link to some uninterrupted tiny-camera tank POV footage!

[@jero37]

I'd love a split screen of the interior footage along with a view of the camera unit moving about the diorama.

[@FlightRecorder1]

Someone needs to build a twitter controlled version of this

[@stephhhie17]

@@FlightRecorder1 It would just be flying

[@SummerAlleriaWindrunner]

I REALLY would have appreciated more footage of the diorama from his POV!

[@caodesignworks2407]

Same

[@abes.4040]

same here. they just kept talking and talking. This is the new mode of making videos, they save footage by just having a guy looking at the cameramen talking about what you're supposed to be seeing.

[@ddwe-p3i]

Replying just in case someone has a link

[@RicePanda]

Honestly same. It's like he doesn't want his viewers to see what's ACTUALLY interesting. We don't care about two guys talking we want to SEE the perspective of what you're SEEING.

[@jordanbell4736]

He wants to be the special medium and we watch him talk about his experience instead of seeing it. Just imagine how pathological the production team has to be: Ton Scott is a king in the world he carves out and he employs people to arrange his adventures and film his glory.

[@eshep71]

I love it, The tank model is a sewing machine guide/guard. I always found that piece fascinating to watch when I was younger and would watch my mom sew.

[@dielaughing73]

They use the same word too: 'foot'

[@justindunlap1235]

Presser foot is the proper term

[@Heylon1313]

Thank you for confirming my assumption that it's from a sewing machine!

[@_HMCB_]

I wish this was still a thing. Like if you could go to arcades and drive/ride this. There’s something magical in that miniature physical world.

[@kawonnowak]

Many years ago I had a conversation with a very senior RAF officer who told me that years earlier while he was 'flying' a simulator using the original system upon which this is based, some other officers had stuck an enormous bluebottle fly on a pin and inserted it into the landscape where he suddenly came upon it on a high speed/low altitude route. He said it was horrific.

[@JuanGamer0202]

"MAY DAY MAY DAY THERE IS A GIANT BLUE BOTTLE ON MY WAY"

[@Studio23Media]

HAHAHAHA that is a great way to mess with somebody 😂

[@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785]

Lmao! That's brilliant! Must have been like an old monster movie. Someone should stick a few ants, a preying mantis, and maybe a small lizard like an anole into the tank simulator for the tourists during the month of October as a special treat, hahah.

[@XavierLignieres]

That was the RAF Harrier sim I believe !

[@rikdent775]

@@XavierLignieres I believe so, at Wittering. Sometimes the camera would crash into the map! Also a tiny boat in a river was a scale model of a famous battleship, I forget which one, it's been 50 years!

[@jensschmidt]

I trained on one of those in the German Army in 1998. Some of the simulators were already digital, but most still were exactly like this. And it was actually really fun learning to drive a tank that way.

[@matthiasp.2702]

Ebenfalls bei mir Anfang 1999 in Stadtallendorf 👍😁

[@jensschmidt]

@@matthiasp.2702 Da (bzw. in Neustadt) war ich dann in der Panzerbrigade 14 im Stab als M577-Fahrer 🙂

[@sguploads9601]

thast so strange in 98 we have very powerful gpus - so it was not a problem at all to make a great simulation just on PCs

[@TheCimbrianBull]

If you miss tank simulators I can highly recommend the PC tank simulator "Steel Beasts" in which you can operate a Leopard 1 main battle tank.

[@GeomancerHT]

@@sguploads9601 military equipment is always built with older and more proven tech for resiliency, cost and ease of replacement.

[@robjchristopher]

Many many years ago I worked in a place that had an aircraft version of this - as the aircraft flew towards the mirror around the edge of the model, artificial cloud was generated and the camera turned around 180 degrees, the image was mirrored and the cloud removed. The aircraft then carried on. The detail in the model was incredible and all hand made / painted. It was mounted on a wall, vertically, not horizontally as shown in this video. I don't think it survived when the site was closed down - heartbreaking!

[@jamesduncan6729]

Wow! That would have been incredible to see. I bet that was terrific fun 👍🏻

[@robertkeddie]

I've seen one like that too! I thought it was connected to a Nimrod simulator at Marconi's base at Hillend, Fife, still open as part of BAe Systems. I was there for a visit in the seventies, but I may have seen it at RAE Farnborough, where I worked in the summer of 80/81/82.

[@tonyb8066]

I saw one of those in the US. It might have been at AA's training center in Ft. Worth, Texas. Cool thing to see.

[@robertwarner5963]

This reminds me of a visit to Canadian Aviation Electronics (near Montreal) during the 1970s. They had a similar simulator for training airline pilots. The biggest difference was that the model landscape was tilted up at 80 dgrees and leaned against a hangar wall.

[@robjchristopher]

The one I saw was at Farnborough

[@grampsinsl5232]

We had exactly this type of flight simulator at McDonnell Douglas in the 1980s and earlier. It had a coastline, and there was a sticking-out point of land with a lighthouse on top of it. Through one of those weird glitches that happen sometimes, the lowest "altitude" that the camera could "fly" was just a bit too low in that one area, and if pilots weren't careful they could knock the lighthouse off of the board.

[@jamesmorris3928]

I can't remember where exactly, I think in Germany, I was doing a checkride in a simulator and on the wall in one of the flight planning/ briefing rooms was a large section of the 3D relief map they used to use in these analog (camera) type simulators. I want to say it was in Illesheim... ?

[@ssgoko88]

Dude I thought that said McDonalds I was like "burger flipper VR"

[@mickcoulson6188]

They had one at RAF Locking in late 70s ,I flew in it as an air cadet ,still remember "buzzing" the church

[@fuzzywzhe]

Ah, you worked for an Offense Contractor - the people that have brought us into completely unnecessary wars for the last 40 years. A well spent life.

[@HahaHaha-gq8ft]

This probably is that exact trainer . Or a different model used by the US .

[@princessLilytea]

that ending "it is really dangerous what you do, here is a game, it's like a game. this job is not a game" feels so important.

[@TheTrueHazkali]

@@precisionleadthrowing4628 Absolutely not. That is an awful, hideous, dangerous idea. You do not have to be a solider to understand the gravity of war, nor to be affected by war. You do not have to be a solider to have something to offer your community in the democratic process. Your proposal would (depending on country) disenfranchise women, the old, and the disabled. Do you honestly think that they should have no say in the goverance of their country?

[@JulianRyf]

Well, in neutral Switzerland, tank driver is actually also mostly like a game in reality...

[@AokijiTheIceWarrior]

@@TheTrueHazkali I don't give the benefit of the doubt to people who bring up a topic like that under an unrelated topic. They are 100% conscious about what they typed.

[@jannikheidemann3805]

@@precisionleadthrowing4628 You took Starship troopers to heart, didn't you?

[@Bikonito]

@@precisionleadthrowing4628 please stop exposing yourself to lead

[@zollotech]

That was great. Would love to check that out

[@YourBoyDonald]

Same here.

[@aarondavis8943]

I could drive across all the dioramas I made as a kid! If I'd kept any of them 😣

[@jero37]

The gentlemen explaining the simulator were so excellent, I loved the older fellow, he feels like a good fatherly CO type. It's probably very nice to run a museum and not have to be overly concerned about needing to do the real thing, but his attitude would be good to have if they had to shutter the museum to do the real thing. Also what a great camo pattern.

[@paulneilson4106]

He looks to be 30/35 years my junior. Thanks.

[@TheFujac]

as a CO i bet he can shout really loudly!

[@ianhopkins8948]

That camo pattern is a flecktarn pattern if you were curious, TAZ 83 to be precise

[@MangasColoradas941]

@@ianhopkins8948 its not flecktarn is derived from a completely different ww2 german pattern, it also predates flecktarn and isnt issued by the swiss anymore iirc

[@martinpaulsen1592]

Seemed more like the grizzled NCO type, to me. I could easily picture him training generations of newbie lieutenants...

[@DeadlinePhil]

3:52 that actually tells quite a lot about computer advanced thinking that back in the seventies the computer most likely consisted of an entire server cabinet and now all of it is running on a 9 by 6 cm raspberry pi

[@Boeketijn]

Just a nod of appreciation to the seamless transition at 21 seconds. It’s like there’s no break in the voiceover!

[@krakenpots5693]

it is slight, but very well done!

[@themightyjagrafess8596]

00:21

[@chaomatic5328]

@@themightyjagrafess8596 ty

[@Tahgtahv]

There is definitely a break after "so instead..." maybe. Remember the audio is recorded separately anyway. Normally, you would slice the audio and video at the same place. In this case, it appears as tho they extended the audio from the previous scene, and overlapped it with the panning shot of the new scene. You wouldn't even have to be very precise at all while filming, as you can just leave more or less of the panning shot in to line up the audio during the edit.

[@ConsciousAtoms]

Now I have this weird urge to go and build my own version. That miniature terrain looks so cool when seen from the camera.

[@jhonthecat5061]

Imagine different types of vehicles too, race cars, sports cars, rally cars, huge mining trucks, maybe even a bulldozer where you could actually push mini piles of rocks. Could do boats for sure too, planes probably not. The terrain has endless possibility's too, make a miniature model of mars terrain for rovers, even the bottom of the ocean floor, mountains, so cool

[@PadeMoro]

Imagine if someone had a setup like this, but then attached the camera to a drone. You could fly around. That would be so cool. Surely someone has done this already.

[@samnangchea5025]

This would be a total dream of mine just to have in my home because I was always that kid who loved miniature models of airports or cities whenever I'd travel.

[@iwasinnamuknow]

@@jhonthecat5061 I really want to build a miniature earthmoving simulator now. What a project, if only I had the space.

[@BM-yy8db]

I'm curious what would happen if you drive into a tree. Surely if it's open for tourists they'd get people steering into scenery (by accident?) all the time right?

[@reddevilfan100]

That's incredible, it's like a giant 6 axis pantograph as far as the movement of the mini tank affecting the big tank. Absolutely ingenious.

[@AaronOfMpls]

Indeed! It reminds me of a big X-Y pen plotter -- but with the "pen" able to move up and down and swivel around, too.

[@Thwack19]

I find it absolutely awesome that, since starting my job at a facility that still uses this old tech, I can appreciate the kind of effort for analyzing circuits and finding replacement parts it took to get this working. Never in my life did I think I'd be using an oscilloscope or logic probe as old as my mom to be trouble shooting next gen warfare technology. Bravo to the engineers and technicians who got this fully functioning again! And a thank you to them as well for seeing it worth preserving!

[@CausticSpace]

Imagine a world where video games were like this. Hundreds of physical worlds in some office building or warehouse; when they need to do maintenance, you just see some giant guy in a grey jumpsuit hovering over the game world. The world we missed out on :(

[@Mr_Boss_Smile]

that mario kart game

[@CausticSpace]

@@carbharharbcar5867 thank you very cool

[@markuss2248]

It is reality. Check out "Isotopium Chernobyl Gameplay"

[@oddball9163]

@@carbharharbcar5867 who asked for your opinion >_>

[@hito1988]

imagine the chaos of an MMO, hundrets of cameras roaming the physical playground and collide with each other.

[@MtAn95]

I'm amazed every single time on the rate that you publish these high-quality episodes. You have video's once a week and still have a high standard show. I'm impressed and love every single episode.

[@k.r.baylor8825]

Tom explained in a vid of his that he can afford a post-production editor, and he can hire local cameramen for the shoot. He researches the episodes, writes a script himself, but the tech stuff is all outsourced. He's doing okay on YT and can afford these production expenses.

[@dudeilligence6441]

It's four minutes long guy calm down I can film myself doing a tourist attraction in 1440 too

[@Vyclops]

@@dudeilligence6441 but you're not Tom Scott, so it would suck

[@khanzy.]

@@dudeilligence6441 you talk like a dickhead

[@d3r4g45]

There is an entire team behind this all. 4 mil views is 40k$ from YT alone. Thatr money can get you quite budget for a team for research, script, production and post. It's an entire studio behind this all.

[@ForkGenesis]

Wow! The thing I have noticed just now that in Tom Scott's videos, everything is a real place: he doesn't just tells us about some place in the past. He leaves links to a museums for US to try it, because he wants to share with us the knowledge of an existing of this place. I find it fascinating. Thank you so much, Tom! I hope it won't close by the time I will come there.

[@ro7680]

Tank you so much* ;)

[@swordzanderson5352]

@@ro7680 take my like and get out

[@ForkGenesis]

@@ro7680 yoo, im glad my opinion is popular. Are there some grammatical errors I could fix? Sorry, not an English native

[@ro7680]

@@ForkGenesis no your grammar is fine! I was just making a joke.

[@ForkGenesis]

@@ro7680 oh I didnt even catch it lmao

[@shawnmurdock8059]

This is really cool. Kudos to the Swiss military for saving this piece of history. I hope they kept the old computer even though it was not working - maybe just for show .. comparison to the rasberrypi would be fun.

[@thebenforever]

This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It seems like such an out-there concept, so it's incredible to see that it was actually put into practice.

[@Thawhid]

Oh

[@ch1lly05]

I love the fact that the camera module is sliding on a sewing machine foot or whatever it’s called

[@nicosjerps5275]

in 1984, when i was in the military, i learned driving a Leopard 1 in a simulator just like this one. Nice to see that these guys preserved this one.

[@DDRMaennchen]

I was 1999 in the Bundeswehr. It was in Stadtallendorf where i get to drivingschool for tanks. Was the same simulator like that. Was fun to drive.

[@lucvanackeren5445]

I had 1 civilian collegue who was the only specialist for the Leopard 1 simulator for the Belgian Armed Forces . He had to scramble for major repairs on the simulator on many occasions ..

[@lyingpancake95]

I love the juxtaposition of your last video featuring a cutting edge flight simulator for airliner pilots to this vintage, analog tank simulator. Really amazing!

[@kelvinrobert4737]

Hi there how are you doing?

[@munnsie100]

Wow, seeing that analogue/electromechanical solution of that time period is endlessly fascinating. It’s so simple in the concept, but so complicated in the execution and the electronics involved. Massive respect to the museum for restoring/resurrecting this piece of history.

[@felicitygee381]

This is great, Tom I think you have single handedly increased the wait time for this particular exhibit for the next five years 😁

[@Pineapple-em3so]

Surely! I live in Zurich, and I never knew that there was such a museum near me. I definitely want to visit it now!😁

[@PreposterousJellyfish]

@@Pineapple-em3so Same!

[@OptimusCrime_69]

I never heard of this and I only have to drive about 15 minutes to get there.

[@alvinip9128]

I love how after doing extremely high tech 737 flight sim tom goes and do a miniature model based tank sim

[@Zestrayswede]

From state-of-the-art to retro within 2 videos

[@timheywood7521]

There was a hall in Bovington in the 80's with 4 Chieftain simulators - they only ever scheduled 3 trainees at a time as 1 was usually broken :) In the Bovington simulators the "Foot" was actually the foot from a sewing machine, repurposed.

[@Mr_wayne0805]

Did my training on it in 2000. Before they decommissioned it and took it down. Great fun. 👍

[@mistersamdi]

I was a 19K in the US Army back in the 90's, I would LOVE to check out this old simulator and give it a try. This is too cool!

[@b9y]

This is next level! Wow, the fact that the metal slider translates in to simulator movements too?!

[@u1zha]

Well, yea, that part is the easy one to do analog. Curious how they did the memory bit with all the different surface materials.

[@denisegloff6760]

I used to be a tanker in the 80's and spent many hours driving in this simulator called FASIP, a german acronym for "Fahrer simulator für Panzer", it is really fun but also demanding because the requirements were very high. Note that there was also a same simulator for turret and gunnery called ELSAP.

[@k.b.tidwell]

You know how it goes, they try to put way more on you than is realistic so that in the middle of a battle it is not so stressful. Military psychology which actually does a fair job.

[@TreespeakerOfTheLand]

The sim in this vid is also FASIP, see upper right corner: 2:11

[@k.b.tidwell]

@@TreespeakerOfTheLand good catch

[@belgianfried]

Gunner - sabot, tank!

[@pablovetterli5409]

I made the army too but only 2 years ago, also in the tanks but nowadays they are leopards and the simulator is virtual with a 3D world. They explained us how it was made in the past and seeing this video is really funny comparing the two

[@khalilahd.]

Tom is like a big kid for this simulator and I love it 😅. It’s really cool to see someone so passionate about something ❤

[@paulhaynes8045]

Pause to think a moment. As you read this, someone just like Tom is getting into a real tank to defend his country from invaders. To him it isn't a game or a fun video.

[@eljaibas16]

@@paulhaynes8045 even worse since some are forced to do so.

[@ledumpsterfire6474]

Just now realizing I probably had that same vibe when I went to Kennedy Space Center and did their little shuttle landing simulator. Schooled those kids though, perfect landing. 😂 Guess all that Kerbal Space Program paid off.

[@addymant]

Did not expect to see Tom Scott's reaction to being collared when I clicked on this video

[@AabhasLall]

I wonder how hard it would be to develop something like this for Knuffingen / Miniatur Wunderland. A separate area where visitors are "actually" driving across the model landscape. That would be so awesome!

[@RCmies]

You could probably fit a camera inside one of the models

[@SPIndustriesF23]

With modern technology nowadays it would be fairly easy and relatively affordable, however the problem is visitors could either deliberately or accidentally damage the miniatures or surrounding scenery while driving the tiny miniature vehicles so that's probably why places like Knuffingen don't implement such attractions.

[@Dickstick]

​@@SPIndustriesF23 I know from the miniatur wunderland that they sadly have a big problem with visitors stealing (popular) models. Imagine not only losing a model which took hours or days to make but also an expensive small camera.

[@AabhasLall]

@@RCmies They did fit an Insta360 on one of the trains. :) but sadly you're not in control of it. You can just watch.

[@AabhasLall]

@@SPIndustriesF23 I agree, that's why it should be a special attraction, kind of like te VR experience which is available at an extra cost after the main tour.

[@ChrisBigBad]

I want a longer version and really take a look at every piece of the puzzle.

[@DoubleMonoLR]

Indeed, it was a bit disappointing how little detail there was. It would've been interesting to see how the feedback worked and so on.

[@SianaGearz]

I wonder if they want to invite CuriousMarc from France maybe he can restore the original electronics while at it.

[@jerrell1169]

@@SianaGearz That’s a temporary solution, it’s best to replace it with something that can be easily serviced and fixed by people that aren’t trained with 70s era electronics and mechanical computing.

[@PrograError]

@@DoubleMonoLR if not wrong that was remade by the museum, the actual might have been of a higher fidelity... tho i think those model enthusiast could probably remake one of those if given time and money...

[@SianaGearz]

@@jerrell1169 It's good to have both. There is no assurance that the Pi based replacement is functionally identical to original circuit unless original circuit is maintained alongside it. That being said 70s tech is not as short lived as it seems. All classic semiconductor devices, 74000 series, 4000 series, are still being manufactured (compatible) and in fact present in modern devices alongside modern ICs in your devices using smaller IC packaging. And some processors from the era as well, you can just buy a Z80. More devices have been reimplemented as synthezable logic that can run in a CPLD. And in fact understanding 70s era logic is mandatory electrical engineer education, i feel - immensely helpful in understanding anything that came after and that we use today.

[@patrickrentsch2821]

During my last recurrent training (Wiederholungskurs), I had the opportunity to take a driving lesson in a similar simulator for the self propelled howitzer M-109. Very nice memories Thank you for a bit of nostalgia

[@RobWhittlestone]

This is a 25 minute drive from my home and I have NEVER been! Time to change that! I was a simulator engineer (aircraft simulators) in UK and France just after CGI was introduced, but I knew then about this technology for tank simulators. Great stuff! All the best, Rob in Switzerland

[@SemiHypercube]

Cool that it actually uses a miniature set for the environment since you couldn't really make a computer simulation back then

[@PDBisht]

Really cool idea, tbh

[@benfennell6842]

Same as how we did big catastrophes and explosions on film before CG: miniatures!

[@rheticus5198]

Now we have virtual reality. Back then we had real virtuality.

[@spot1401]

they should more tanks into it. and webcams in the tiny houses so you watch it from the environment

[@willprae2992]

This was AWESOME. And seeing the quiet but noticeable passion of these guys is what I live for

[@Mr_wayne0805]

Did some training in a chieftain tank simulation at Bovi. It had the same system. Tiny camera on a large model map. Weirdest feeling ever if you crashed it, as it used to raise its self up so you got a feeling of being catapulted in the air. Also the giant spider running in front wasn't a good experience 😕. I think the model map is now in the tank museum, Bovington.

[@jgraaay18]

I'll bet; military hardware wasn't built with house-sized eight legged freaks in mind! That's hysterical

[@scottfw7169]

Hahaha! Love the giant spider bit! 🤣

[@TheCimbrianBull]

If you miss tank simulators I can highly recommend the PC tank simulator "Steel Beasts" in which you can operate a Leopard 1 main battle tank.

[@wraithcadmus]

Does HESH work on giant arachnids?

[@qAngel]

the giant enemy spider

[@rosskline]

Mad respect to those Swiss guides who were (mostly) fluent in English!

[@pavarottiaardvark3431]

I saw one of these for a periscope once, no computer, just a periscope with a miniature seascape . The idea was that you'd have a limited amount of time to scan your surroundings and then there were test questions about what you saw.

[@tiagotiagot]

I love how it got a mechanical sensor bumping on the miniature to figure out how to move the simulator platform

[@TaronTT]

Very cool to see a good friend of mine in this video, we'll be honest and say that we never thought that Scott would discover the simulator and visit the museum! Glad you enjoyed playing around :)

[@jamesxtwo]

Saw this in my recommendations and thought it was new haha, Miss ya Tom! ❤

[@superjarri]

I'm an electrical engineer myself and this setup truly fascinates me. The genious and technical challenge to develop such a tool with the techonology available at the time is incredible.

[@Spartan0430]

humanity never ceases to amaze with their creativity and ingenuity

[@hashtagPoundsign]

Tanks for this video Tom!

[@plixplop]

Wow, when I was a kid in the 90s I dreamed of making a "realistic" car racing game with this principle. Amazing to see it actually realized!

[@TheCappedFilmmaker]

I always used to imagine these kind of things before VR really took off, there’s a blast from the past. Great Video 😊

[@citruskeys]

So interesting to hear that what was probably an incredibly cutting edge computer back in the day was replaced by a raspberry pi! Shows the leaps and bounds computational equipment has gone through.

[@siegfried2k4]

Even the missiles and the drones of today are powered by computers weaker than an old Android phone

[@Icetea-2000]

But it’s entirely different technology, this is still in real life. It’s like saying cars have come so far from being horse carriages, it’s something completely different

[@thatsruffdog]

I know this is definitely a dream come true for Tom. It’s like one of those children’s shows that used toys for the story like “Thunderbirds.” It probably reminds him of “Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons” which he said he used to watch reruns of as a kid in the “Driving Backwards” video.

[@Bigelsiet]

I learned to drive a Chieftain I a simulator like this in Catterick when I joined the army, thanks for bringing back the memory Tom 😁

[@LaurenceOlver]

Yup. Cambrai Barracks Catterick, 1977. They worked really well. Thanks Tom.

[@Weesel71]

A few years back I watched a program about how they used similar maps and cameras to train B-29 pilots to navigate over Japan. I was big, and it looked like great fun.

[@MaybeAnnatar]

Honestly the fact that this big simulator that was probably close to the pinnicle of tech in the 70's now runs on a raspberry pi is nuts

[@bay0r]

what baffled me more was that they replaced the computer parts with a simple raspberry Pi.

[@__aceofspades]

I would love to try this simulator, and it looks surprisingly 'real' from the video feed. Also was amused the guy said they has to rebuild all the electronics, so they used a Raspberry Pi.

[@nmode7420]

This is actually really, really cool. An ingenious way to solve the simulator problem, in a time before computing could do this. Wow.

[@rag_man673]

Bloody incredible. Bravo to all who worked on it and those whom restored it. Bravo.

[@epstone]

As a swiss from Zurich this is so cool to see! Ill definitely gonna visit this place!

[@h.a.9880]

This is, in equal parts, the most astoundingly straight-forward solution to a very big problem and absolutely adorable. Whoever came up with something this complex is a genius and I bet this system was surpassed by entirely computer-based simulators only comparatibly recently. That is to say, this was a very handy tool for several decades and the degree of details (such as simulating the cabin movements or different types of ground) is absolutely remarkable. I'd love to hear stories from old tank drivers and how similar this simulator was to the real deal. There must have been a lot of differences, but to learn the basics, it seems like a perfect tool.

[@JeffGeerling]

3:50 Raspberry Pi: detected

[@ballsuckervr]

Hello

[@bilalmalik5002]

Crazy to think at how just 50 years later at 19 i can buy a few components from 1 monthly paycheck at my part time job. Hook it up to my relatively inexpensive PC and setup a deeply immersive, Truck, Train, Tank, Car, Racing or heck even an Aircraft simulator in the time it takes for the packages to arrive.

[@narnigrin]

I appreciate how Tom responds to the commands/suggestions Noelias gives in the tank sim VERY similarly to the commands Petter gave in the 747 sim.

[@JayDubster]

That is such a cool thing! The map is HUGE too, would love to drive around in that. Seriously well done all involved in repairing and rebuilding this crazy machine..

[@ThomasGeist]

Hey! I learned driving Leopard 1 tanks in one of these! 1986, Rommel Kaserne, Dornstadt, Germany. These are frickin’ cool and the tilting of the cabin gives an incredible sensation of driving through real terrain. Especially on rugged ground. 🤪

[@jensschmidt]

I learned driving the M113 at Dornstadt in 1998 in one of those. They had a few digital simulators already, but most of my training was on one of those.

[@jay_fp5019]

1997, same simulator. Looks like they got good use out of them. As I recall, hitting an obstacle at high speed resulted in the camera slide retracting up and (sometimes?) getting stuck, making it necessary for the simulator to be reset manually.

[@NoosaHeads]

I wouldn't have expected anything less from the Swiss. It looks absolutely amazing.

[@NS-YT1]

Tom always finds the most unusual, but incredibly cool, places to visit. Thanks Tom!

[@NathanExplosion25]

This is great Tom. You're getting to do some really cool things lately and bringing to light some tech that most of us never knew existed.

[@rbrooks2007]

I remember the same thing at RAF Brize Norton in the 70s where the whole terrain was built on the side of a wall. It was a work of art. Maybe you could find out what sort of thing they are using these days and be part of the aircrew?

[@caahacky]

The Harrier sim at Wittering was the same idea.

[@Kradlum]

Phantom simulator at RAF Wildenrath was still running when I went as a cadet in about 1984

[@jerry2357]

I remember seeing the similar Phantom simulator when I visited RAF Coningsby in the mid-1970s.

[@kinangeagle133]

This tech plus current sim racing tech can probably be our gateway to remotely controlling cars on real non race track roads.

[@bento2670]

I'd argue it's already possible, the reason why we aren't using it I can only guess but it could be simply because viewers don't want races to feel 'faked'

[@crumbopulis]

Sure you could rc an actual car, what happens when you crash it?

[@muleboy3537]

@@crumbopulis if you die in the game you die for real

[@tatotaytoman5934]

@@crumbopulis probably way cheaper to do so, it could be an engine and chassis with a simple electronic control system. As opposed to a full body car with extra things such as safety features like a frame, or seats, or windows or a body. Not to mention the driver being in the car.

[@obeseperson]

@@crumbopulis you ain’t supposed to crash it

[@donavanhillman7607]

There used to be the same type of tech used for helicopter training simulators. My dad has told me about them and I've always wanted to see one (especially try it). This is awesome. Thanks for showing!

[@michaelpeterson3354]

Was hoping for more video of the simulated view from the POV of the driver. This is an amazing bit of analog tech.

[@notmyname3681]

Yes would have liked to see more of the driver's pov.

[@endgamerplays]

Tom Scott always finds the weirdest things to talk about, and it’s amazing.

[@fynngachter7758]

I live about 20 minutes from the museum but I’ve never been in the simulator. I gotta try now as well. Thanks so much for the insights.

[@Nuttogen]

It’s a big experience

[@Brandon-bc1fz]

When that last dude said " its not a game" all i can think about are those army adds you see that look like it was pulled straight out of call of duty or something. It feels kind of sick now that i think about it a little...

[@clicli9591]

I work for a sim company in the UK Singer/linkmiles. They had a tank sim and some great stories. Main one being they put a spider on one side of a hill so when someone gets to the top and looking down it scared the f... out of them.

[@st4r658]

Seeing Tom somewhere you’ve been is so incredibly surreal

[@49thcorps_models]

This is INCREDIBLY cool, both from a modeling standpoint and a history standpoint

[@smorrow]

Have you seen the Forgotten Weapons video on the map museum in France?

[@Meuduso1]

As a swiss tanker, modern day, this was so fun to see since we've seen footage of these old simulators during training An interesting line from Tom was that it's weirdly convincing, which is true for modern simulators as well. It's so interesting how little the human mind needs to get immersed into an experience, a testimony to our brain's capability for imagination really

[@alanwatts8239]

Please don't leak sekret dokuments.

[@protonjones54]

No, you need the RIGHT things to be convinced, the "amount" doesn't matter.

[@fuuryuuSKK]

He had a very similar "weirdly convincing"/"forgot about the "simulation" part" experience in his recent Plus episode where he tried to land a 737 with little to no prior training.

[@umaydoruk4526]

this is fffing fascinating dude. insane design for the age, and i bet the movement sim inside the "tank" looks and feels like it does an amazing job at replicating the tank feel. I went to Zurich once and I am deeply dissapointed with myself that I did not visit this museum. In my defence, I was 12 so I guess my parents are to blame for not including it in the vacation 😅