Hydraulic engineering is a notoriously under-staffed industry. To address this skills deficit, HYDAC have developed multiple avenues to access their award-winning portfolio of training programs and systems integration, including face-to-face, online, and the innovative mixed reality.
What Is Mixed Reality?
Virtual Reality (VR) immerses users in a fully digital environment, disconnecting them from the physical world. Augmented Reality (AR) enhances the real world by overlaying digital information onto it, allowing users to interact with both real and virtual elements simultaneously.
Mixed reality uses a combination of the two - a reality that does not take place exclusively in either the physical
or virtual worlds, but a hybrid of reality and virtual reality. Eddie Alves, HYDAC Australia and New Zealand Marketing Manager, explains… “Currently, Australia has a significant shortage of workers qualified to maintain hydraulic machinery. In 2020, we partnered with Deakin University (Deakin Motion Lab) to bridge this skills gap.”
How Does it Work?
On-demand virtual reality (VR) training means workers can access training anywhere and at any time using a special VR headset. They can then progress on to instructor-guided training where they have access to virtual, personalised one-on one support. Once the technician is out in the field, augmented reality headsets allow them to get real time assistance as well as access detailed schematics, exploded views of machinery and pop-up instructions, guides, videos and safety instructions.
The Ideal Solutions To Save On Time, Risk And Errors
Using mixed reality training not only eliminates the time and hassle of getting to training centres but also has safety and accuracy implications. Traditionally, technicians would be trained on dangerous equipment, which presents an obvious safety risk. Using a virtual environment for training means that technicians can study, disassemble, reassemble, and adjust photo-realistic objects without any risk to either the trainee or the machinery.
Remote supervisors or master technicians can don a headset to step in virtually at any point during a job and provide assistance, quality control and check that nothing has been missed.
“It’s evident that our comprehensive hydraulic training options not only contribute to cost savings, but also cater to the needs of students in challenging locations,” says Eddie. “By offering training solutions that can be accessed remotely or tailored for on-site delivery, we’re ensuring that even in difficult locations, students can acquire essential skills efficiently.”
Book your training session now or contact your Blackwoods representative here.
Related Articles
