WMATA Awards VR Training Simulator Development to ForgeFX
Washington Metro Area Transit Authority has contracted ForgeFX Simulations to produce an immersive VR computer simulation to enhance operator training.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 5, 2018 (Newswire.com) - ForgeFX Simulations is pleased to announce that they’ve been awarded a contract from the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to produce a Virtual Reality (VR) simulator to help improve training for Metro operators. Harnessing cutting-edge technology, the WMATA VR operator training simulator will help increase risk awareness and hazard identification, improve proactive problem solving, and greatly enhance equipment operator training.
VR-based training simulators immerse users in engaging realistic virtual worlds, where they can experience life-like scenarios and learn how they’ll need to react in the real-world. The WMATA VR training simulator will allow operators to virtually experience potentially dangerous situations that could result in catastrophic accidents in the real-world and learn how to navigate these challenges in a safe simulated world.
VR training simulators allow us to train people at a level that's just not possible in the real world. We're able to put people at the controls of a large complicated piece of machinery that's capable of doing a lot of damage, and take the operator right to that moment in time when everything lines up in the wrong way such that a disastrous event is imminent, and train the operator on what they'll need to do in that split-second to avoid disaster.
Greg Meyers, CEO, ForgeFX Simulations
“VR training simulators allow us to train people at a level that’s just not possible in the real world”, says ForgeFX Simulations CEO, Greg Meyers. “We’re able to put people at the controls of a large complicated piece of machinery that’s capable of doing a lot of damage, and take the operator right to that moment in time when everything lines up in the wrong way such that a disastrous event is imminent, and train the operator on what they’ll need to do in that split-second to avoid disaster. It’s typically not something you can do in the real-world because it’s too risky or costly. You wouldn’t take a pilot in training and put them at the controls of a 777, knock out the engines, put the aircraft into a tailspin, and see how the trainee reacts. It’s just too risky. However, that’s exactly what you can do, and should do, in a training simulator. In fact, you wouldn’t build a flight simulator that doesn’t allow the pilot to crash the plane — you want them to crash the plane in the virtual world and learn from their mistakes, so they don’t crash the plane in the real-world.”
ForgeFX and WMATA will develop and deploy an innovative training solution that takes advantage of emerging technology and simulation-based training best-practices to help increase operator safety training within the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority’s operator training program. Training operators to develop basic skills, plan for atypical situations and abnormal operating conditions will greatly enhance safety and reduce the number of accidents and incidents.
ForgeFX Simulations provides custom virtual and augmented reality application development services for clients who are looking for interactive 3D simulators. http://www.forgefx.com
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. https://www.wmata.com.
Source: ForgeFX Simulations
