29 April 2022

IT²EC 2022: VRAI's HEAT simulation system incorporates performance, human factors monitoring

by Giles Ebbutt

VRAI's HEAT simulator installed at the IDF Cavalry School for Mowag Piranha and RWS training. The gunner is on the right with the RWS hand controller and the commander in the centre. The screens show the trainees' HMD view. Note the RWS control screen in the gunner's view. (VRAI)

Ireland-based VRAI has developed a platform simulator that is specifically designed to collect detailed user performance data and showcased the system at the International Training Technology Exhibition & Conference (IT ² EC) 2022 in London.

VRAI has supplied the simulator to the UK as part of an airmanship research project and to the Irish Defence Forces (IDF) to support training on the Mowag Piranha armoured fighting vehicle (AFV).

The Hazardous Environment Awareness Trainer (HEAT) consists of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware including an eye-tracking head-mounted display (HMD), together with appropriate immersive software and VRAI's data collection capability, which tracks and records head and eye movement, reaction time, and other human responses to events in the virtual world.

The system has been used by the UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) in the Immersive Data driven Airmanship Simulator (IDAS) project. Niall Campion, VRAI managing director, told Janes that the project had been conducted in conjunction with the Royal Air Force, using Prepar3D flight simulator software from Lockheed Martin.

Around 40 pilots were tested in six different scenarios to record non-technical skills such as instrument monitoring, look out, speed of response, and communication skills. Campion said about one billion data points had been recorded.

Ireland-based VRAI has developed a platform simulator that is specifically designed to collect detai...

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