Training

From this News Channel 10 article : "While there is not any snow in the immediate forecast, TxDOT is making sure the snow plow drivers are prepared for the next winter blast. This is the the first year TxDOT invested in virtual reality snow plow training.

Sixty six snow plow drivers from Amarillo and Childress sat behind the wheel of a virtual snow plow machine over the past week. It looks like something straight out a video game, but in reality, it's teaching the drivers how to handle the icy roads and dangerous conditions.

TxDOT says the biggest benefit to this new virtual training system is it's risk free.

This IndustrialIT post reports The School of Mining Engineering at the University of New South Wales is developing new mining safety training tools using virtual reality technology. From the post: "The VR Simulation Project is a collaborative effort between UNSW and the University of Adelaide. The training program is aimed at increasing hazard awareness and safe working practices of mine employees working at heights on mine sites.

Mining is a high-risk industry, and work at heights on mine sites involving ladders, construction scaffolds and other elevated platforms has resulted in a number of serious incidents causing injury and death.

This BCM article reports Invensys is working on a virtual environment simulation which can improves plant safety and production. From the article: "The creative coupling of human factors, process simulation knowledge and virtual reality has led to the emergence of a new generation of immersive training simulators. Maurizio Rovaglio, Invensys Process Systems (IPS) shows how Virtual Environment (VE) simulation can improve plant safety and production.

This Journal Record article reports Oklahoma City Community College is investigating a possible deal with Eon Reality to provide a training ground for 3-D and virtual reality technology. From the article: "The deal is a long way from done, but if it comes together, OCCC students could have an opportunity to get a jump-start in the development and use of 3-D animation – skills that are expected to be in high demand in the very near future.

The deal could also give the college access to software that was developed for corporate sales and training applications, but could just as well be used to help train future nurses and auto mechanics.

Eon Reality Inc., based in Irvine, Calif., is a privately held interactive 3-D visual content and virtual reality company started in 1999.

This CNNMoney.com press release reports VirTra Systems announced delivery of the first ten small arms training simulators of a 24-system order from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). From the press release: "he ten small arms training simulators delivered are part of a larger 24-system sale to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) totaling nearly one million dollars. The full-featured use-of-force/marksmanship IVR(R) simulators are manufactured by VirTra Systems and marketed through Ti Training Corp under the trade name Training Lab(TM).

Major General Dalby commented, "Our sales partner, Ti Training Corp, has continued to win important business with many domestic law enforcement customers bolstering VirTra Systems' growing sales volume.

This Emerging Technology Trends article takes a look at a new technology to make easier to diagnose and plan the treatment of cancer. From the article: "Computerized image analysis is used to extract information from images. It can be used in medical applications to determine the size of organs or to build 3-D models of organs before surgery. For example, a PhD candidate at Uppsala University, Sweden, has developed new technology to make easier to diagnose and plan the treatment of cancer.

This ScienceDaily article takes a look at V-Frog: the world's first virtual-reality-based frog dissection software designed for biology education allowing physically simulated dissection. From the article: "A provider of virtual reality, visualization and simulation products and services, Tactus Technologies is a spin-off of the University at Buffalo Virtual Reality Laboratory.

"Other products out there are multi-media, not true virtual reality," explains Kevin P. Chugh, Ph.D. '01, president and chief scientist at Tactus Technologies, based in Getzville, a northern suburb of Buffalo.

This tech.co.uk article reports Toyota's latest car is designed to improve safety not by anything it does on the road, but by its performance inside a giant simulator atop a 4.5m gantry. From the article: "The system features a real car inside a 7.1m-diameter dome with a 360-degree screen on its interior surface, onto which video that mimics real-world driving is projected. The whole lot is then placed on a computer-controlled platform that shifts on hydraulics to simulate the feeling of driving.

Thrills but no spills

This press release reports VirTra Systems will be demonstrating the most technologically advanced dismounted infantry simulator yet developed at this year's Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation & Education Conference (I/ITSEC), in Orlando, Florida.

VirTra Systems, in conjunction with Christie, EON Reality, Inc., and InterSense, Inc., has developed advanced tactile infantry training simulation technology, using high-quality head tracking, allowing interaction in real-time with dismounted infantry warfare content.

This stuff.co.nz article reports Nextspace, a graphical communication company in New Zealand, has joined a European research consortium that plans to take medical training "to the next level" by letting surgical teams practice operations on holograms. From the article: "Chief executive Roy Davies says training would take place in "mixed reality operating theatres where everything was real except the patient".

"They look ghostly, because they are made up of light, but it does look like a thing hovering over the table." Surgeons would be equipped with "virtual reality" gloves that would give them the sensation of touching the patient as they operated.

Surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses could all be involved in the virtual operation, increasing the sense of credibility.