The three key parts of MVRsimulation's FPV-UAV simulator: laptop, handheld controller, and head-mounted display seen at the I/ITSEC exhibition in December 2024. (MVRsimulation)
MVRsimulation (MVR) has developed a simple first-person-view (FPV) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) simulator and launched it at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2024 held in Orlando, Florida, from 2 to 6 December.
FPV UAVs, based on those used for racing and armed with suitable munitions, are increasingly being used in Ukraine as one-way attack weapons against armoured vehicles and other targets. An FPV UAV has a forward-facing video camera, the live feed from which enables the operator to navigate, identify the correct or most suitable target, and steer the drone towards and into it. To do this at speed takes considerable practice, which can ideally be achieved using a simulator.
While commercial FPV drone simulators exist, they do not provide the varied and detailed terrain and military entities that training for tactical scenarios requires. MVR has combined its Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG) with a high-fidelity flight model from Bihrle Applied Research to deliver a portable simulator that imitates the visual and cognitive demands of flying a high-speed drone, MVR said in a press release on 2 December.
The system consists of a gaming laptop running VRSG and a Republic of Gamers (ROG) handheld controller device, providing a display with configurable integrated pilot controls. VRSG simulates the front-facing camera view of the UAV, which is streamed to the handheld device. To provide a realistic view, the stream shows the UAV's rotor blades and munition nosecone. The simulator can also be supplied with two-dimensional (2D) video goggle headsets, allowing the operator to experience the FPV stream as a head-mounted view, the company said.
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