Workforce TRAINING
US Airforce | Virtual Reality Training
The US Air Force is the world's largest air force, operating over 5 thousand aircraft 24/7, 365 days a week. Operating such a large force requires thousands of airmen to be trained on highly complex skills to maintain and ensure the readiness of these aircraft. Vinci VR was tasked with developing engaging VR workforce training that can both effectively teach such a large force and engage a younger audience of airmen who grew up in the era of video games.
RAPID RESULTS
425 hrs
Increase in hands-on training time
30x
More Training Repetitions
50%
Improvement in trainee performance
PROBLEM
A New Generation of Airmen
Due to high costs of acquisition and a rapidly modernizing force, the US Air Force's technical training schools use outdated physical simulators that are often 10-20 years behind the current equipment used operationally. While the rest of the operational Air Force was cycling into new, modern aircraft, schools were still utilizing simulators from the 1970s.
In addition, the expense, real estate, and complexity requirements of simulators provides additional challenges. Setting up aircraft for a training session can take an instructor up to 3 hours. Due to the cost and size of GITAs, hundreds of students have to split a few GITAs. This forces the school to cram at least 3 airmen into one GITA per training session; airmen are allowed a few repetitions per session and can not learn at their own individual pace.
Finally, there was the problem of the new generation of airmen, who grew up in the age of video games and digital technology at their finger tips. The Air Force, already struggling with recruiting these young people, faced an additional challenge of engaging and teaching young airmen who grew up as digital natives.
VR cockpits of airframes made by VinciVR.
At first, I was overwhelmed with all the components. I had no prior knowledge about electronics at all. Going to virtual reality felt like my natural habitat, because I am from a younger generation and more in-tune to technology. When I come in and put on a headset, it’s like I’m already there. I’m learning a lot better, a lot faster.
Airman Davis,
Student USAF
“
SOLUTION
A next generation VR training tool for a next generation learner.
Vinci created highly realistic 3D versions of the Air Force’s Aircraft and components, such as cockpits and engines. These were integrated into the Immersive Classroom VR training platform, enabling airmen to train on simulated versions of modern aircraft used in operational environments. From the VR aircraft, airmen can practice procedures in their own personal environments, allowing them to train at their own individual pace and getting 10x more repetitions in one training session compared to previous tools. In addition, the marginal cost to add an additional set of trainers has been decreased to a VR set ($3,000), enabling significantly more scale.
The portability of the solution enables airmen to also conduct “night before training”. This meant Airmen could take headsets home with them to train the night before the first time they got hands on training with real equipment. This sped up training processes and lightened the burden on real equipment.
We are able to modernize our training efforts through this new technology that we have. With Vinci, we are not confined to using the types of aircraft that we have or older aircraft. For us to be able to use a virtual reality simulation and give our Airman exactly what they are going to see in the field, that’s what this unit is all about.
Brigadier General,
Kenon Bell