Training in the Age of Social Distancing – IDTechEx Explores if AR/VR/MR Can Provide the Answer
In the age of social distancing, training and maintenance of many complicated tasks and services has come to a standstill. However, there are technological solutions to this problem. Augmented, virtual and mixed reality headsets can provide an immersive solution for a wide range of different applications, for example, these headsets can be used for remote assistance, remote training, and remote meetings. A complete overview of this industry is in the IDTechEx report, “Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality 2020-2030: Forecasts, Markets and Technologies.” The report discusses 83 different companies and 175 products in VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality) and MR (mixed reality) markets.
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One example of virtual reality for training is in situations which would be difficult to create in real life – for example, firefighting training for oil rigs. As these simulations can be tracked and graded, instructors can provide specific feedback on different scenarios to the trainee. This level of detailed and constructive feedback provides a much clearer and direct way to offer complex training scenarios.
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Another example of training is AR/VR’s use in flight simulators. A simulator allows a variety of different plane set-ups and interiors to be modelled, without using a real plane. These simulations are immersive experiences that allow the user to learn to fly a plane in a unit which can move and respond to the user’s actions. This provides them with an experience which is as close as possible to a real-life environment. However, these are expensive set-ups. The cost of learning to fly for students is also expensive, for example, in the UK, the cost of learning to be a pilot can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds and two years of training to obtain their ATPL license. There is also a shortage of pilots learning to fly, due to this price barrier. In 2016, Boeing forecast that the aviation industry would need over 670,000 pilots between then and 2035. Furthermore, with current fixed based simulators running from $500K to up to $4million for foxed based simulators, any replacement or supplement equipment must provide a long-term high spec solution to training pilots. This is where VR devices and technology solutions can play a role in filling this skills gap.
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