Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation
What Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality developers are talking about
Industries continue to leverage virtual reality (VR) technology to help them improve business and reduce cost in areas such as training. Now, the technology is making its way to into the likes of freight companies such as UPS who are incorporating VR into their training programs to help lower costs and provide effective experience to truck drivers on the ground.
As reported by Americaninno, there are nearly 41,000 trucks worked in Virginia and 23,000 in Maryland as of 2017, according to the BLS, but the numbers has been decreasing following low wage growth and a higher number of retirees. The average annual salary for a trucker is $42,780 (USD) in Virginia and $47,230 in Maryland. Becuase of these decreasing numbers their is a need for freight companies to find new staff to help ensure that their daily business does not see an impact.
According to a 2017 report by the American Trucking Associations, the US trucking industry needs to replace nearly 90,000 drivers annually for the next decade in order to continue operating. This is why UPS is looking towards the latest in VR technology to help get new hires onto the road quicker and tackle the staffing problem sooner rather than later. The company has expressed that it would install VR solutions into every training center by the end of 2018, including those in Maryland.
“There are many things you can not train in a real truck because if the individual has an accident, that’s going to be a very expensive problem,” CEO John Kearney said.
This is being made possible thanks to companies such as VR Motion and Advanced Training Systems who are building specialty VR simulators for driver training. Advanced Training Systems’ simulators can cost between $60,000 and $100,000 apiece with larger training schools hoping to have up to four simulators installed. Though it is going to be a costly expansion, the need to get hires onto the road as soon as possible, while still giving them complete training drives the need for new solutions.
“All of the costs that you normally incur in a truck will not be incurred when you use virtual reality,” Kearney said. “We’re reducing the costs of training and we’re dramatically improving on the training itself.”
As companies like UPS continue to use VR technology to help address problems such as staffing, VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest so stay tuned for more.
Huawei, China’s cellphone and connectivity technology giant, and Inglobe Technologies, the leading Italian Mixed Reality company, continue their collaboration in developing Augmented Reality solutions to make operations more efficient. The collaboration aims at providing field engineers with innovative tools meant to reduce execution time and errors.
One of the products on which a post-installation check solution has been deployed is the SUN2000-25KTL inverter, a piece of equipment employed in large industrial photovoltaic fields.
A more recent application the Chinese manufacturer focused on regards the UPS2000-G installation procedures, used to power the network infrastructure support equipment.
This scenario requires the technician to use step-by-step instructions with Augmented Reality graphic elements and animations to perform assembly and wiring operations, quickly and easily locating the intervention areas on the equipment and performing her technical assignments.
During the process, the technician is supported in choosing the most suitable tools for executing individual tasks.
The solution has been implemented by means of HyperIndustry. Hyperindustry is Inglobe Technologies’ Augmented Reality Platform for industrial enterprises. It is composed by two modules: a web-based backend that allows you to run the procedures authoring workflow; and a mobile client that can be deployed on iOS, Android, and wearable devices, allowing field technicians to receive directly assignments on their own devices and to synchronize the outcome of their activities on the platform.
Find out more about Inglobe’s Hyperindustry, the AR Smart Manufacturing Platform for Industry 4.0: http://hyperindustry.inglobetechnologies.com
Computer simulation has been used in training of people such as learner drivers, airline pilots for many years. The advent of virtual reality (VR) adds an extra layer of realism to those simulations that allow for an experience much closer to real-world situations. UPS, one of the world’s biggest delivery companies, is using that technology to train its delivery drivers.
There are over 100,000 UPS vehicles on the roads throughout the world, many of which are on extremely crowded roads. As such, UPS have placed a heavy emphasis on safety, along with the need for prompt delivery. As such, UPS will soon be launching a program to install HTC Vive headsets in its training facilities around the U.S. to provide its drivers with immersive training in an environment as close to the real world as possible.
The VR training program was designed by the UPS IT department to recreate various scenarios that delivery drivers may come into contact with, to allow them to recognise and avoid various hazards and problems they may come into contact with.
According to Juan Perez, UPS chief information and engineering officer: “Virtual Reality offers a big technological leap in the realm of driver safety training. VR creates a hyper-realistic streetscape that will dazzle even the youngest of our drivers whose previous exposure to the technology was through video games.”
A video showing the VR training in use can be viewed below.
Many companies and organisation are turning to VR to assist with training and education, with VR being used to teach paramedics, soldiers and even astronauts.
VRFocus will continue to bring you news on VR in training and education.