Publication Date

Spring 5-2026

Document Type

Student Project

First Advisor

Butail, Sachit

Degree Name

B.S. (Bachelor of Science)

Department

Department of Engineering Technology

Abstract

The 71 North Partnership Studio located in Northern Illinois University’s Founders Memorial Library has developed a prototype Vespa simulator featuring an interactive Virtual Reality (VR) game and reactive elements. A previous Mechanical Engineering Senior Design team developed the system and improvements after its original development were sought after over the course of the current school year. The system consists of a stationary bike that allows the rider to lean left and right, which in turn causes their in-game character to turn left and right accordingly, simulating the effect of riding a Vespa scooter within a VR environment. Improvements were made by replacing the original leaning system that consisted of bending a pair of central compression springs to provide a restoring force with a pair of offset compression springs compressed linearly. This improves the functionality and consistency in the response from the rider. A new addition was made that allows the system to simulate the feeling of braking by leaning the rider forward and backward on the bike. A motor-driven cam is implemented to allow the tilt angle to be controlled by events that take place within the game, and as the cam spins the front end of the bike will be raised and lowered accordingly. A large rear pivot is also added to allow the bike to pivot along two independent axes of rotation where one is for leaning and one is for braking.

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