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Siemens digitalizes maintenance training with DiSTI

Modern technical training is evolving at a breakneck pace – but the difficulty of creating, maintaining and delivering that training remains the same. There is intense demand for more effective training, provided globally at a lower cost to the business. Yesterday’s “death by PowerPoint” is being replaced by immersive virtual training that provides on-demand asynchronous delivery, which delivers an immersive experience that creates muscle memory and improves employee performance. New platforms like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mobile devices and Amazon AppStream are the “must-have” technologies that now promise the right results. They allow us to immerse and engage students, to reinforce proper technique, and to improve safety and efficiency. Virtual training saves on equipment wear and tear and enables students to train at their own pace in a safe environment. Late adopters still wonder whether the results justify the means. They ask: ”who is being successful at adopting and leveraging the technology for real business and cost improvements?” DiSTI has been working with Siemens to address the challenge of creating and managing virtualizing training and cross-platform delivery to drive measurable results. For example, DiSTI has demonstrated a 66 percent reduction in course length by reducing a three-day instructor-led [...]

By | 2019-07-08T20:37:56+00:00 June 19th, 2019|

Wärtsilä Software in Maritime Simulation Centre

The technology group Wärtsilä is to supply and configure the software solutions for a new, state-of-the-art, purpose-built simulation centre being constructed near Portsmouth, England. The centre is an expansion of the Maritime Skills Academy’s (MSA) training portfolio serving the Solent region, and is designed to meet the specific simulation training requirements of cruise, ferry and superyacht clients. The software is developed by Transas, a Wärtsilä company, who will also provide technical and maintenance support to the project. The order with Wärtsilä was booked in March 2019. The new facility will be uniquely positioned to service the needs of its targeted clients. It will be the world’s only commercial training centre to have a fully integrated Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum system within the full mission bridge simulator and associated course provision. Wärtsilä will also deliver the software solutions for a full mission engine room simulator with a customised cruise ship model and various other training aids. “Collaboration with partners and customers is central to realising Wärtsilä’s Smart Marine vision, and this is a classic example of how it can work to serve the needs of the industry. Thanks to our joint collaboration efforts, this centre will deliver exceptional training possibilities through the [...]

By | 2019-08-10T00:27:15+00:00 June 10th, 2019|

DiSTI to integrate VE Studio with Siemens’ Teamcenter

A new agreement between DiSTI and Siemens PLM Software enables the integration of DiSTI’s VE Studio with Siemens PLM Software’s Teamcenter portfolio to automate training and field service content development. “Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies are transforming the way our customers want to train and equip their workforce. Companies want to be able to leverage their investments in their content and reduce the cost of developing and supporting virtual training solutions. This partnership will enable us to integrate the VE Studio Virtual Training Development Platform with Siemens’ Teamcenter in a way that will automate the process of sharing content such as CAD and work in process procedures between the PLM system and the virtual training development platform,” says John Cunningham, chief revenue officer of the DiSTI Corporation.    

By | 2019-06-04T19:36:47+00:00 June 4th, 2019|

Varjo releases video-pass-through headset XR – 1

Varjo Technologies has developed a new headset named XR-1 Developer Edition. Shipping XR-1 to mixed reality developers, designers and researchers is expected in the second half of 2019. The XR-1 is capable of delivering photorealistic image quality with integrated eye tracking. It is the culmination of two and a half years of intensive R&D. The XR-1 enables the real and the virtual to achieve true visual parity – with the XR-1, the dream of ‘Hard AR’ (where you can no longer tell apart what is real and what is virtual) has at last been achieved. The XR-1 upgrades Varjo’s human-eye resolution headset (VR-1) with a front plate featuring dual 12 mpx cameras. The core technology makes photorealism possible with video-pass-through. It means that the device uses cameras to digitize the world in real time, and then multiplexes it inside the GPU with the virtual content to show the combined result to the user. The XR-1 enables users to examine photorealistic mixed reality in a full field of view. With the XR-1, virtual objects appear as real as anything in the physical world and can themselves cast shadows or even illuminate reality. Black objects appear truly black, opaque objects indeed block [...]

By | 2019-05-31T17:51:56+00:00 May 31st, 2019|

British Army selects BISim for VR pilot programme 

The British Army has awarded a contract to Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim) to demonstrate the art of using virtual reality, machine learning and cloud computing for the Army’s Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP). The pilot programme has been made available through the Defence Innovation Fund, MOD investment into innovation. BISim will work under the VR In-Land Training (VRLT) Pilot Programme, a British Army CTTP initiative charged with exploring the use of VR for collective land warfare training and identifying the potential benefits and effectiveness of VR for military training and simulation. The VRLT Programme will help make recommendations on the impact, affordability, innovation and exploitation of VR for U.K. defence training. BISim will help deliver a series of training events for the pilot programme demonstrating VR and MR (mixed reality) capabilities using BISim products. The training events will use VBS3, BISim’s flagship desktop training software; VBS Blue IG, the company’s high-performance whole-earth image generation software; and VBS STE, a prototype whole-earth desktop trainer that combines the power of the VBS3 simulation engine with high-fidelity VBS Blue IG visuals. BISim has subcontracted Cervus Defence and Security Ltd, a U.K. company with expertise in capturing and leveraging defence training data, to [...]

By | 2019-02-05T15:25:37+00:00 February 5th, 2019|

Serious Play offers two conferences

Serious Play Events, featuring more than 80 sessions by the global thought leaders driving and expanding the study of games and simulations to improve learning and research, will gather at two separate conferences in 2019: Wednesday – Friday, July 10-12 at University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) Wednesday – Friday, July 24-26 at the University of Central Florida (UCF)’s new downtown campus in Orlando The use of games and simulations, it says, is gathering steam as a more productive technique for education, training and research. Metaari, an analyst firm in the industry, is forecasting a 37percent increase in global CAGR for the next five years, quadrupling revenues to more than $17.1 billion by 2023. Serious Play Conferences, three-day practical, experiential learning events now in their 11th year, bring together serious game developers and instructional designers; training directors implementing learning programs in government, corporations and healthcare institutions; K12 administrators and faculty; and higher education faculty. To see the caliber of speakers and sessions last year, here is the program from the 2018 DC conference: 2018 SPC-GMU Program Speakers interested in applying to do a session or workshop can find the form here: http://seriousplayconf.com/speaker-submission/ For more information on the conferences, visit: www.seriousplayconf.com [...]

By | 2019-01-24T11:16:15+00:00 January 24th, 2019|

ECS enhances military medical trainer with HaptX

Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS) works with HaptX, to provide enhanced military medical virtual reality training. ECS has enhanced its Tactical Combat Casualty Care Simulation (TC3Sim) medical trainer to incorporate a sense of touch in training scenarios to improve realism and training by using the HaptX Gloves Development Kit, an industrial-grade product for advanced simulation in virtual reality. HaptX Gloves enable users to experience virtual simulations with realistic touch feedback and natural interaction for the first time. This training debuted at the Interservice/ Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), and subsequently, has been enhanced with even more realism that will be showcased at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH) January 26-30, 2019. Shane Taber, ECS vice president of operations/Orlando, explains: “Previously, VR training focused on learning through visual and auditory cues. The sense of touch has been missing, and by integrating the HaptX Gloves, warfighters shift their perspective from the typical Virtual Reality interaction that uses a controller to click and interact, to more of a human-based physical approach of actually grasping an object or reaching out and touching a button with your finger. A medic can bandage a wound or administer CPR, perform highly tactile [...]

By | 2019-01-24T11:14:32+00:00 January 23rd, 2019|

AMC announces winners of command safety awards

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. - Safety is often measured by a lack of bad things happening, but at the U.S. Army Materiel Command, Soldiers and civilians are being recognized for their contributions to being proactive in preventing accidents. For William Zaharis, Safety Director, Army Materiel Command, the Safety Awards are a way to recognize the workforce for acts that may otherwise go unnoticed. "What really gets safety done is the interface between Soldiers and commanders to make sure they are doing things by the book," said Zaharis. "The Army Materiel Command Safety Awards help bring their contributions to light." Limiting accidents and performing day-to-day tasks in a safe way contributes to overall readiness. Adam Crafard, the safety director at Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, said submitting his organization for these awards acts as a self-check. "I look at this as an award that captures what we have been doing as a command over the last few years," said Crafard. "We have brought everybody together to work toward a common goal." Winning awards like this shows the workforce is taking on safety as a priority, Crafard said. "It tells me safety is important to the command, and more importantly, to the workforce," [...]

By | 2019-01-23T10:37:15+00:00 January 23rd, 2019|

Operative Experience to launch TCCS Plus

Operative Experience Inc. (OEI) announced the launch of TCCS Plus, a military-grade, high-fidelity simulator designed to provide hyper-real, clinically-responsive trauma training for combat medics on the battlefield as well as civilian first responders in active shooter and other mass casualty scenarios. The simulator provides training for forward deployed medical personnel encountering casualties in austere environments that require prolonged medical care while awaiting evacuation. Its clinical capabilities are designed to conform to the Joint Trauma System (JTS) Center of Excellence and Deployment Medicine training standards, including hemorrhage control, advanced airway management, closed head trauma identification, cardiac compromise, advanced respiratory disorders, intravenous cannulation and advanced monitoring. TCCS Plus is a ruggedized full body, wireless and tetherless, fully articulated simulator featuring on-the-fly tablet control, pre-programmed clinical scenarios and more than 14 hours of continuous battery powered run time in indoor and outdoor environments. It is also available in five wound pattern configurations that simulate traumatic injuries from IED explosions, blunt trauma and gunshot wounds. It will be introduced at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH) in San Antonio, Texas, the industry’s leading conference for the latest innovations and best practices in healthcare simulation.

By | 2019-01-23T10:45:28+00:00 January 22nd, 2019|

Remograph releases Remo 3D v2.8

Remograph announced the release of Remo 3D v2.8. Remo 3D is an effective tool for creating and modifying 3D models intended for real-time visualization. The primary file format is OpenFlight. Remo 3D is currently available for Microsoft Windows 10, 8, or 7 and Linux. This new 2.8 version of Remo 3D brings support for OpenSceneGraph 3.6.3, a new preview animation feature, and other various fixes.

By | 2019-02-06T15:05:33+00:00 January 2nd, 2019|