In a press release, Circuit Stream announced the launch of the Circuit Stream Platform, a cloud-based, software as a service (SaaS) which aims to enable companies to deploy, manage, and scale extended reality (XR) applications that transform how their employees learn and work. First launched through a private beta program with participating manufacturer INVISTA, Circuit Stream leveraged their platform for airport management company Vantage Airport Group to improve safety and training at the company’s airports.
Circuit Stream notes that aviation, manufacturing, and aerospace companies are increasingly looking to virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to train staff and manage operations with greater efficiency, accuracy, and safety. However, the ability to securely deploy and manage cross-platform XR software using the most powerful 3D engines in the market today had not been possible. According to the company, Circuit Stream’s software was designed with the goal of facilitating the delivery of XR content for training, processes and operations at scale.
“Virtual and augmented reality can capture expert knowledge, increase training retention and improve safety, while reducing the time required for training and preventing operational downtime,” said Lou Pushelberg, co-founder and CEO of Circuit Stream. “As XR adoption accelerates, companies are looking at the technology to transform operations, collect valuable data, and improve productivity over time. Our software is designed to help deploy, manage and measure large-scale XR projects across major hardware platforms, which, in the niche but rapidly growing XR training market, currently does not exist.”
According to Vantage, 57 million passengers pass through their ten airports around the world, and airside operations employees need constantly improved safety and training practices so that everyone can get where they need to safely and effectively. However, because those employees work in the most hazardous area of airports, traditional training methods are expensive and time-consuming. To address this need, Circuit Stream and Vantage designed a driving simulator that trains employees in the specific rules of driving alongside airplanes while allowing them to safely experience hazards inherent to the job at hand.
“VR’s value is in its ability to recreate experiences difficult to encounter otherwise,” said Pascal Poudenx, manager of process and design sustainability at Vantage. “We reduce risk when we experience things in training difficult to recreate in reality, like being exposed to the jet blast of an aircraft engine.”
Using VR to prepare people for worst-case scenarios has been a proven method of increasing effectiveness during emergencies. According to a study by the University of Nottingham, VR training positively influences the behavior of people during evacuation drills when compared to traditional training procedures.
According to Circuit Stream, Vantage’s VR training reduces training time to save on overall costs, betters knowledge retention, and mitigates millions of dollars of risk in avoidable accidents. Employees in the VR training scenario were able to experience what happens when they drive too close to an aircraft’s jet blast, without any actual injuries or property damage. Circuit Stream and Vantage claim that this scenario discourages potentially risky behavior that’s life-threatening to employees and passengers, and it retains millions of dollars from repairs and lost revenue.
Providing a comprehensive range of analytics, user management, and security features, the Circuit Stream Platform is backed by the company’s growth as leading VR/AR educators and developers. Building on the knowledge of tools, workflows and best practices through the company’s training programs, the new platform now makes it easier to quickly and securely publish XR apps and measure their impact against key success metrics.
As for Vantage, Circuit Stream’s training experience had a great reception from employees at Vantage’s airport in Nassau, Bahamas, and it’s set to be rolled out across Vantage’s global network. In the meantime, Vantage and Circuit Stream are currently exploring how to add further features to the simulation that are focused on other areas of air safety and ground crew training.
Circuit Stream claims that their platform is compatible with the Oculus Rift S, Valve Index, HTC Vive and Vive Pro, with Oculus Quest, Microsoft HoloLens 1 and 2, and Magic Leap compatibility on the near-term roadmap. Anyone interested in exploring more about the Vantage use case can learn more on Circuit Stream’s website.
