Jul 30 2014
ESI Group, pioneer and world-leading solution provider in Virtual Prototyping for manufacturing industries, announces the implementation of ESI's Virtual Reality solutions at AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine.
Based in Bordeaux, Europe's biggest hub for the aerospace industry, AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine's facilities now include a Virtual Reality powerwall running IC.IDO, ESI's Virtual Reality solution. This initiative opens new perspectives to professional training, leveraging the latest virtualization technologies to provide an immersive experience, greater interactivity and team collaboration.
Thanks to newly installed facilities, AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine can now offer immersive and collaborative training sessions for aeronautic maintenance.
Created in 2011, AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine aims to be Europe's largest provider of higher education and professional training dedicated to aeronautic maintenance. The association is deeply rooted in the local economic environment and operates in partnership with the biggest aeronautic industrials in the region. 19 expert companies teamed up in 2012 to found the AEROCAMPUS Cluster, with the objective of keeping ahead of the industry's professional training needs for all aeronautic applications, ranging from maintenance and repairs to composites manufacturing, welding, advanced materials & coatings production and advanced assembly techniques.
In 2013, during the most recent Paris Air Show, AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine, engineering firm P3 ingénieurs, leading European immersive 3D firm Immersion, the Bordeaux aeronautic maintenance institute IMA, the Bordeaux Technowest technology center, and ESI France signed a consortium agreement committing them to build the first ever immersive Virtual Reality room entirely dedicated to training in France.
This Virtual Reality room is now fully operational at AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine and is used to train students and professional mechanics in aeronautic maintenance. The facilities include a Virtual Reality immersive system, with its powerwall, polarized 3D glasses and joystick.
With IC.IDO, trainees are now able to experiment with maintenance operations in an ultra-realistic immersive environment that provides real-scale and real-time interactions. They can work collaboratively, and benefit from distance learning as they connect to other Virtual Reality systems located at other sites. For example, pupils located in Toulouse may connect virtually with their fellow trainees in the new AEROCAMPUS Virtual Reality room.
Using Virtual Prototypes, rather than the traditional real prototypes, the AEROCAMPUS Cluster will also be able to ensure that equipment data is current and takes into account the slightest change in aircraft parts or maintenance processes.
"Virtual Reality is a fantastic technology providing the most interactive teaching experience possible. Not only does this new technology make learning fun, IC.IDO also enables the experimentation of real-life physics and the realistic rehearsal of maintenance procedures, without having to provide costly aircraft parts. Virtual Reality is ideal to keep up with the latest training data as it offers a greater reactivity with respect to frequent changes in aeronautic parts or processes," comments Jérôme Verschave, Managing Director, AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine.
For more information about IC.IDO, please visit www.esi-group.com/ICIDO.
Source: http://www.esi-group.com/