Inzpire’s Sim in a box takes “training where trainees are”
Incorporating capabilities into ever decreasing spaces helps the UK military meet their training needs – wherever in the world they are.
Stephen Pook, Head of Mission Training Devices at Inzpire…
Incorporating capabilities into ever decreasing spaces helps the UK military meet their training needs – wherever in the world they are.
Stephen Pook, Head of Mission Training Devices at Inzpire explained the concept behind the company’s case system – a “sim in a box.” He said that as the strategy across UK military was about deploying forces, simulation training needed to be easy to transport so personnel could keep their training up-to-date away from their bases.
“More and more of our customers and the trainees are going to be deployed. Therefore how do they access the simulation training that they require to keep them current and competent in their primary roles?” said Pook.
Case system allows forces to take training on deployment
He added: “The problem we see is that currently big sims are generally located in one place, trainees have to go to that but if your boat is the other side of the world, how do we maintain that currency? The sim in a box, as we call it the case system, is a compact agile simulation equipment but essentially it means you can take your simulation training with you, wherever you deploy and that allows you to maintain your currency in particular high-end training events that you might not be getting on a deployment or an operation.”
Pook explained the case system started with the company’s UAM capabilities as the devices are generally accessed using on-screen technology. “We created a system that essentially you arrive, you open the box, open the lid, plug it in network it in and three to five minutes later you can be training.”
System uses “mixed reality”
Inzpire are now moving the idea into the commercial end for the system, which uses ‘mixed reality’ He explained: “We’re now in a position where we can integrate a virtual world but with real world equipment… We have the real world equipment in a case, so for a JTAC, for example, that would be laser target designators, radios, all of those things, and you can interact with those real world objects but now you don’t need a big footprint dome with projectors and all of that. You can simply put on a helmet-mounted device which now brings in your training environment and allows the JTAC to interact with a wide, deep, high-fidelity synthetic training environment with the equipment he needs too.”
Pook said Inzspire’s system was more likely to “sit alongside” or enhance traditional sim-based training programmes rather than replacing them. The system could also ensure training could be continued on deployments rather than leaving long gaps between sessions. He added taking a simulator with you could enable forces to have the option of weekly or monthly training whilst on deployment, “maintaining that currency and competency at the level you need to enhance your operational effect.”
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