  This paper presents the development of a real-time simulator for the
validation of controlling a large vehicle manipulator. The need for this
development can be justified by the lack of such a simulator: There are neither
open source projects nor commercial products, which would be suitable for
testing cooperative control concepts. First, we present the nonlinear
simulation model of the vehicle and the manipulator. For the modeling
MATLAB/Simulink is used, which also enables a code generation into standalone
C++ ROS-Nodes (Robot Operating System Nodes). The emerging challenges of the
code generation are also discussed. Then, the obtained standalone C++ ROS-Nodes
integrated in the simulator framework which includes a graphical user
interface, a steering wheel and a joystick. This simulator can provide the
real-time calculation of the overall system's motion enabling the interaction
of human and automation. Furthermore, a qualitative validation of the model is
given. Finally, the functionalities of the simulator is demonstrated in tests
with a human operators.
