Antycip Simulation opens UK Regional Demonstration Centre
Antycip Simulation officially opened its UK Regional Demonstration Centre on 16 November, designed to provide enhanced support to customers in developing solutions for their projection, virtual reality and simulation requirements, company officials confirmed.
Co-located at the Antycip’s UK headquarters in Adderbury, Oxfordshire, “the Hub” will be made available to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other customers across the defence and commercial sectors to conduct, “advanced demonstrations, training, testing and review,” of modelling, analysis, simulation and communications technologies, company officials explained to MONS.
Featuring a series of Barco projectors and supporting software from Antycip partners, the Hub provides customers with a modular solution which can be reconfigured dependent upon customer requirements and capable of supporting a mix of virtual reality (VR); augmented reality (AR); and mixed reality (MR) solutions. This includes a main room as well as multiple break-out rooms.
At the grand opening, the main room of the Hub was fitted with a 6x2m Flat Screen power wall with Barco F50 projector; 2m radius Spherical Screen with pair of Barco F70 projectors (which can be extended to provide a 360-degree solution if required); and 3m Projected Stereoscopic screen with F90 projector. One of multiple break-out rooms also featured CM Labs‘ Vortex Advantage Rig capable of supporting military and commercial vehicle simulation programmes, providing “real time physics” data to customers, Chris Waldron, Area Manager UK at Antycip, announced.
Antycip also unveiled details regarding a series of demonstrations already scheduled for January 2018 and beyond, including a VR and AR Technology Day as well as Systems Tool Kit (STK) Education Programme.
According to Antycip literature, the STK comprises a free modelling environment allowing, “engineers, mission analysts, and software developers to model complex systems (such as aircraft, missiles, satellites and their sensors), to analyse mission simulations and to visualise dynamic datasets in four dimensions”. Antycip officials also described how the Hub would also support evaluation, test and review processes as well as consultancy and training work.
The grand opening also saw Antycip running Mak Technologies’ VR Engage and VR Forces software, which when integrated together and with additional simulation programmes, enables armed forces to conduct joint training scenarios including Command and Control (C2) serials.
A training scenario demonstrated at the grand opening event showed Special Forces operators inserting by Ram-Air parachute from CH-47 CHINOOK helicopters into an area of operation, before manoeuvring around an urban environment as dismounted and mounted teams on board infantry fighting vehicles.
The programme’s VR Engage software, which provides the C2 capability across a common operating picture, is also capable of featuring unmanned aerial systems; artillery; special operations task groups; fast air; and other force elements, Antycip officials explained to MT.
The UK Hub will support the company’s Italian Regional Demonstration Centre in Saronno, comprising simulation, visualisation, training and virtual reality solutions. Company officials also explained how UK and Italian Hubs could be networked to the company’s Le Hub site in France, during 2019.
Andrew White