Abstract: Disclosed is a planar test bed comprising a planar surface and further comprising mechanical couplings in mechanical communication with the planar table and the supporting legs. The mechanical couplings are translatable to provide three degrees of freedom for orientation of the planar surface. A processor receives position and velocity information describing an object on the planar surface, and calculates a relative acceleration typically using a function aR=f(t,xR,vR,?t). The processor communicates with the mechanical couplings to establish an orientation where a local gravity vector projects onto the planar surface and generates acceleration with magnitude and direction substantially equal to the desired acceleration aR The operations occur in cyclic fashion so the desired accelerations and planar orientations are updated as an object transits over the planar surface.