This past holiday season I got my son a flight simulator for Christmas. After three days he was already creating his own flight plans and having a blast sitting in the center of a realistic cockpit. This wasn’t just a game. Watching my son play with his new gift reminded me about how simulation technology is so helpful in building skillsets in the real world.
These systems replicate real world situations allowing for repetitious training in a safe, inexpensive training environment.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Augmented reality training systems mimic a real process allowing students to practice a certain skillset over and over again until perfected. For example, when welding students need to move their arm at the same speed and hold their wrist at a certain angle for every movement. By repeating this process using a virtual training system, students quickly acquire the muscle memory needed to weld.
The same goes for virtual trainers like those from SimSpray, which address auto body spray painting and sandblasting.
There is no limit to the amount of time students spend practicing their skills – they simply keep training until they’ve demonstrated proficiency. This is also especially helpful when students are looking to complete a specific number of training hours to earn certifications.
Safe Learning Environments
Many of the training areas that have increasingly adopted virtual reality training technologies carry their own set of dangers when training on real equipment, like welding (electrocution; the need for proper air ventilation), flying aircrafts (losing control of an aircraft), and other training areas that involve operating heavy machinery (complicated controls can be confusing when you first start learning a large piece of equipment).
We work with Simlog’s Forklift Personal Simulator, which puts students at the controls of a typical factory forklift. Before operating an actual forklift, it’s helpful for students to get accustomed to the levers and controls in a virtual environment first. Knowing the proper controls is second nature before students move onto a manufacturing plant floor where decisions are often made rapidly. Students avoid risking their own safety by getting the training hours they need under their belts before moving into a more advanced situation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyjgdr70YRY
Save Costs
Investing in heavy pieces of machinery, like forklifts, can also really add up. That’s why virtual trainers are an ideal option for many of the schools we work with. Educators can train several students using virtual trainers in a shorter amount of time, maximizing training time for everyone taking the course, before moving onto training with actual equipment.
For industries like welding and auto body, you’re also saving on consumables (rod, wire, gas, torch tips, paint, electricity, etc.) which can be a huge cost to schools. You can read more about how augmented virtual reality welding trainers help to cut costs in this Savings Study.
