XR training for logistics, travel, and transportation
Innovators in the transportation industry have proven that virtualized staff training provides clear benefits over conventional staff education. In this article, we’ll first consider the benefits of using extended reality (XR) technologies in training contexts and then explore real-world examples from expert developers in travel and logistics.
Overview:
- Benefits of immersive training
- Standardized training environments
- Realistic simulations
- Virtual skills certification
- Improved analytics tracking
Benefits of immersive training
Text- or video-based training modules, while potentially useful for short-term learning, often fall short when it comes to long-term retention. On-the-job training, though indispensable to certain stages, introduces the risk of accidents and injuries. To counteract these shortcomings, transportation leaders have tasked their tech teams with the process of digital transformation.
XR provides a deeper, more immersive learning context, safely removed from hazards, so that trainees can develop foundational skills in low-risk environments. In programmatic settings, these training environments can help to reinforce progression through repetition, assessment, or built-in reward systems.
Immersive training scenarios closely replicate real-world settings to offer an effective and engaging staff experience. The transportation industry is increasingly adopting virtual training programs to achieve higher standards of excellence and preparedness. Some of the key benefits include:
- Realistic replication of real-world environments
- Improved knowledge retention through repeatable lessons
- Low-stress learning contexts that bolster learner confidence
- Standardized training for global workforces
- Built-in metrics for continuous assessment
- Ability to save progress for ad hoc learning
Because the Unity Editor facilitates deployment across multiple hardware and mobile platforms, XR training modules built in Unity can be deployed in various consumption contexts, whether they serve to complement, precede, or replace existing training systems.
Standardized training environments
One of the primary benefits of XR technology is the ability to virtualize real-world assets to create standardized training environments. It is therefore critical to choose technologies that prioritize data integrity from the first import.
That’s why engineers at the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines XR Center of Excellence set out to produce immersive training environments for pilots and crew in Unity.
The first step was building a data ingestion pipeline through Unity’s Pixyz Plugin. Using high-resolution photographs, LiDAR scanners, and computer-aided design (CAD) assets from a leading aerospace manufacturer, the team rapidly prototyped 3D models of the aircraft in KLM’s fleet. They then scripted custom interfaces for the Unity Editor that helped to automate and accelerate tasks – so they could allot more time to developing training scenarios.
With quality 3D assets in place, the team leveraged Unity’s native object-level C# scripts to program interactive modules where pilots could manipulate realistic control panels and practice complex procedures within a virtual cockpit. The virtual reality (VR) program also offers bird’s-eye visualizations for increased awareness, while dynamic rendering updates allow trainees to see the results of their actions in real time.
By using scale replicas of real-world airports and simulations of challenging weather conditions, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has been able to enhance operational efficiency and ensure that its crews are prepared for any critical scenario.
Since implementing its first virtual training programs, KLM’s XR Center of Excellence has built a legacy of successful XR innovations. There are now similar programs to train ground crews on refueling and towing procedures, as well as an immersive training module for Air France-KLM flight crews.
Realistic simulations
To prepare ship pilots for the rigors of open waters, Harwich Haven Authority (HHA) partnered with waterway experts at HR Wallingford to devise a state-of-the-art training program for the UK Ship Simulation Centre.
The combined technical team chose Unity Industry as a key component of their tech stack to take advantage of real-time simulations and achieve key objectives with the help of Industry Success solutions engineers – dedicated advisors who guide developers through their first steps with Unity and counsel them on overcoming challenges.
After experimenting with wave-motion packages from Unity’s package library, they integrated the High Definition Render Pipeline to maximize the performance of GPU-intensive wave simulations. These choices helped to simplify the integration of numerical wave models and other data-rich inputs, resulting in a realistic simulation of adverse weather conditions.
With quality weather simulations and high-fidelity models of real-world vessels, the training simulator allows ship pilots to practice navigating different classes of ships through realistic waterway scenarios, with opportunities to develop greater spatial awareness through 360-degree aerial views. New vessel models are continuously added to the simulator, thus ensuring that even seasoned pilots can jump in anytime to pilot state-of-the-art watercraft before ever touching the helm.
Virtual skills certification
Forklifts play a crucial role in warehouses and other logistical staging areas. Given that mishaps can lead to costly equipment damage, delays, and serious injuries, forklift operators must undergo thorough training before receiving their professional certifications.
To address these risks, a certification agency called Virtual Forklift set out to create an immersive training program – but quickly found that third-party virtual training solutions suffered from graphical aliasing, dropped frame rates, and other performance issues. That’s why they partnered with the expert XR developers at Travancore Analytics.
Together, they developed a bespoke VR training application that employs Unity’s High Definition Render Pipeline to create realistic scenes with volumetric lighting. To populate the virtual world, designers imported prefab assets from Unity’s Asset Store and managed their memory allocation using the Addressables package.
Unity’s NavMesh AI scripting helped optimize obstacle placements and coordinate the behaviors of non-playable character (NPC) pedestrians within the virtual warehouse. The team also incorporated native physics simulations to emulate suspension dynamics and procedurally generated floor decals that reduced texture draw time during live rendering.
Unity streamlined the development and deployment process at every stage. The resulting XR application can be delivered to multiple consumer-grade VR platforms and scaled with optional functionality updates through AssetBundles.
Improved analytics tracking
Beyond immersive modules, XR applications can improve staff training by offering ways to natively capture metrics on existing task workflows and preview intended changes to real-world operations in digital settings.
Vancouver Airport Authority connected real-time data with a scale digital replica of Vancouver Airport (YVR) to track day-to-day operations and achieve preparational excellence.
Developing the digital twin’s exterior views relied on several cutting-edge technologies. YVR’s tech team first captured real-world imaging data using a helicopter outfitted with high-fidelity cameras and LiDAR detectors. Once ingested into the Unity Editor, these object models could be synchronously networked with real-time data from iOT devices distributed throughout the airport using Unity’s library of first-party network packages.
The application allows airport administrators to seamlessly switch between 3D, isometric, and internal views in order to monitor plane status, predict passenger loads, and assess congestion risks on the runway. Additional interior views created with Pixyz Plugin from architectural CAD data can be modified in a 3D editor and previewed in first-person to assess efficacy.
These layered viewing contexts allow administrators to performance-test interior layouts and simulate disaster scenarios to increase staff preparedness. From tablet-based instances of the digital twin, staff assign tasks on a room-by-room basis, thereby creating metrics for optimizing staff training on fundamental procedures.
Ready for tomorrow
Now that consumer-grade VR headsets and mobile devices come equipped with LiDAR emitters and multispectral cameras, it is more cost-effective than ever to digitize real-world settings in high fidelity. This opens the door for new opportunities in logistics and transportation, where immersive training scenarios are already providing first-hand experience with complex processes and safety skills.
The technology used to build interactive games is revolutionizing transportation industries around the world. XR training offers a safer, smarter way to upskill teams that improves retention outcomes and accelerates continuous development at scale.
In leisure travel, logistics, and beyond, Unity Industry empowers organizations to simulate real-world scenarios, optimize processes, and quickly adapt to evolving business needs.
