Potential of Virtual Reality in Aviation and Aerospace Industry
VR has reshaped many industries today and the aerospace industry is one of them. Virtual reality technology nowadays is increasingly being used in militaries for various applications such as safety, simulation, and visualization of battlefields, etc.
Aviation and aerospace is another such industry that that involve complex designing mechanisms and structures. It includes visualization of navigating systems, air-traffic control, weather, terrain, and airspace information, and a lot of other sophisticated workings, that need proper attention.
It also has to deal with hundreds of lives at the same time. Therefore, there can be no chance of errors.
Also, the rise in people's disposable income has led to an increase in demand for luxury and comfort. Traveling by air is still a luxury for so many.
Therefore, with a rise in income, people would like to travel by air instead of trains and buses, also because it is considered as the safest and most comfortable way of traveling.
This has increased the demand for air travel and thus, a rise in aircraft orders. Regular renewal of business aircraft will further contribute to the growth of this industry.
This will pave the way for innovation, to cope with the increasing demand, which will also provide larger customizations, better luxury, comfort, enhanced durability along a reduction in cost.
One such innovation is virtual reality. This will provide opportunities for more improvement and development. AR VR in the aviation industry can really stand out with the following benefits:
VR in Aviation can act as a learning tool for engineers
Aerospace engineers, don’t usually have access to learning materials that can help them practice. They often need to wait for the complex structure that is used as a learning tool.
With the help of virtual reality solutions, engineers will not have to wait for any learning mechanisms, instead, the process of learning will become much faster, as virtual reality creates a simulated environment in which engineers will be allowed to work in virtual aerospace and view the composite structures, to learn and manage them well.
With the help of VR companies, simulations can be created, where engineers can even walk inside a jet engine or view jet parts separately and study them.
This provides personalized learning to them, thus leaving no chances for error. Also, virtual reality makes a safe training environment, so there’s no risk that anyone will be hurt.
Easy designing and manufacturing with AR VR
Though the flight is considered the safest mode of transport but still, there are still a lot of safety issues involved in commercial aviation, especially when a plane takes off and lands.
VR can help one to visualize and interact with the aircraft and provide an environment, identical to the complex mechanisms of the aircraft used during the designing phase.
With the help of this, one can visualize and make any changes required, before applying any process in reality. Thus, VR verifies the aircraft design process which leads to product manufacturing.
Better inflight experience for customers - In this era of cut-throat competition, companies don’t want to leave any stone unturned to attract and retain their customers. They want to provide the best of their services to improve customer experience with the brand.
So, VR can be used by companies to improve the inflight experience of their customers. VR headsets are being offered to passengers who find it difficult to bear long flight durations or are afraid of flying.
VR headsets feature a high-definition screen with full audio and video feeling which has the ability to distract any person from its current situation and move them into a more relaxing environment.
It is self-adjustable according to one’s eye and provides a lighter and more engaging flight experience to the passenger.
Airlines have already started to use VR headsets to make passengers watch 3D and 2D films or shows and have observed more satisfaction among their passengers.
Proper training for pilots using AR VR and MR
Pilots have to be fully equipped and trained before flying a plane. For this, they have to undergo extensive hours of training using flight simulators. The flight simulators are quite expensive and are heavy professional training devices.
Therefore, pilots are required to have proper training. Airports are too busy to provide pilots with a real-time experience. Hence, the real training environment usually becomes time-consuming and resource-intensive for the aviation industry. This calls for the need for VR, which incorporates the virtual environment of the airport virtually.
Pilot training using AR VR and MR is way easier than before. They can practice real-life processes, which not only improves their performance but also decreases the cost of training and resources.
Assistance in maintenance
Virtual Reality can be used in remote maintenance assistance. This is used for the purpose of increasing work efficiency, where maintenance staff could receive guidance while they are working. They can also share real-time pictures and video information with their remote colleagues. Thus, VR improves work efficiency and provides a faster solution.
With this, we can conclude virtual reality is becoming a new trend, especially in industries that involve complex learning mechanisms and require proper safety measures to be undertaken.
Thus, technological advances are key to their survival. Augmented reality aerospace is no exception. Using AR/VR technology will only improve the manufacturing process, facilitate personnel training, ensure better aircraft maintenance, and have lesser risks to human life.
Still, there are many unexplored areas of AR VR in the aviation industry where it might prove itself. This technology can never become obsolete. It has already proven its worth in various industries. So, one can only explore what exciting new features will be enabled when aviation and virtual reality will cross paths.
