Varjo, a provider of professional-grade virtual and extended reality (VR/XR) hardware and software, and Immersive Display Solutions, Inc. (IDSI), a supplier of immersive training visual display solutions for both military and industrial applications, have this week announced that they have signed an agreement to enhance their business relationship by leveraging Varjo’s mixed reality (MR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) to expand IDSI’s simulation and training capabilities.
IDSI has deployed more than 600 training solutions over the past 17 years. According to Varjo, by incorporating its XR-3 Focal Edition into IDSI’s solution offerings, the company will now be able to provide a more realistic training experience where trainees can engage in hands-on training while immersed in a virtual environment.
The partnership will begin with IDSI integrating Varjo’s latest XR-3 Focal Edition headset into IDSI’s turnkey XR solution, ChromaXR. ChromaXR is purpose-built to transport users to a virtual training environment while still seeing the real world in the foreground. ChromaXR supports multi-mode occlusion, including video pass-through chroma, depth or marker occlusion.
The technique of ‘chroma keying’ or ‘green screening’ (pictured below) is a preferred method to achieve clean, real-time separation of physical objects in the foreground from the virtual environment in the background, enabling tactile hands-on training. Varjo’s hardware is well suited to handling such use cases, as it is able to seamlessly merge the real and digital worlds in human-eye resolution.
ChromaXR also has the flexibility to operate in virtual reality (VR) mode for situations where gamified training is sufficient to meet the training objectives. The initial focus of ChromaXR is Joint Fires Training, whereby the XR-3 Focal Edition enables trainees to interact with physical equipment.
“Varjo XR-3 Focal Edition, with its high resolution and close focal range, is an ideal extension to our industry-leading immersive CAVE and spherical dome displays. Trainees can easily perform training activities such as reading maps, reading/writing, and exchanging tactical digital communications via simulated digitally aided close air support (DACAS) activities using the Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK), which allows precision situational awareness, navigation, and data sharing,” said George Forbes, CEO of IDSI.
Forbes added, “We are pleased with the outstanding performance of the Varjo XR-3 Focal Edition as an ideal complement to our traditional direct-view projected and LED immersive training systems.”
Also commenting on the partnership was Seppo Aaltonen, Varjo’s Chief Commercial Officer, who said: “We are proud to partner with an established leader like IDSI to develop and deploy innovative solutions across the training continuum. IDSI’s customer base greatly benefits from the superior visual precision of the XR-3 Focal Edition, and together we can augment traditional simulator training with a highly effective, secure solution that is suitable even for classified environments.”
For more information on Varjo and its VR and XR hardware and software solutions, click here. To learn more about IDSI and its immersive training visual display solutions, click here.
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Image credit: Varjo / IDSI
