Aerospace, energy and defense engineering services specialists, Lockheed Martin, are collaborating with Brigham Young University (BYU) to employ virtual reality gaming features as tools for engineering design and training.
The research team includes a number of engineering students, and is investigating the use of virtual reality (VR) gaming technology in engineering applications, thanks to a 2016 Lockheed Martin engineering grant provided to BYU’s Mechanical Engineering Department for the virtual reality project.
The system was built on the Unity game engine to create 3D environments, and will be virtually accessible by engineers anywhere in the world, provided that they own a VR headset. The system allows engineers and apprentices to delve in a virtual environment where they can practice installing, repairing or replacing components in a 3D environment themselves, rather than conventionally watching a tutorial or training video.
“The BYU students created an impressive demo of the VR system that really highlights the potential of this technology, even in its early stages,” said Darin Bolthouse, an engineering manager at Lockheed Martin’s Denver-based Collaborative Human Immersive Lab (CHIL).
“We are making training faster, making it cheaper and making it possible to train from remote locations,” added BYU mechanical engineering professor John Salmon.
The system leverages immersive 3D experiences for efficient design, collaboration and training, which can save millions of dollars by avoiding extra design and build time. The research team hopes that this technology may be used in the future to train students and interns before they enter the industry.
“We’re trying to investigate how we can put the trainee inside the virtual reality environment, so they can kind of see the same sort of perspective the trainer might experience while they’re doing their job,” said Salmon. “They can practice inside these virtual environments in smaller spaces and then they can move off to a location and they’ll be ready to work.”
For more information, visit Brigham Young University and the Digital Tapestry at Lockheed Martin.