Construction Equipment Virtual Trainer (CEVT): Importance & Features
Construction can be a difficult and dangerous job to complete. It requires the use of heavy, expensive equipment which should only be operated by trained professionals. These professionals could practice using the equipment itself, but this would likely elicit unneeded expenses for repairs, difficulties in training, and injury.
As trainees use operational equipment for training, the equipment will eventually wear and tear from over and improper use. Also, the equipment itself would not be available for use during training.
Most of the difficulties in training come from these vehicles only having enough room for the operator. It is often difficult for the instructor to educate the trainee while they are operating the equipment. Therefore, it is much easier to train using a simulator in a proper educational setting where the instructor can see over the trainee’s shoulder and can communicate effectively.
CEVT
The Construction Equipment Virtual Trainer (CEVT) is to both train Soldiers upon initial entry and transition from the classroom to actual equipment by proving a null risk training environment. CEVT will provide high-fidelity, challenging training using simulated terrain and movement characteristics that enable the student to transfer motor-skills from simulators to construction equipment. CEVT allows Soldiers to perform construction tasks that vary from leveling earth to excavating a trench, from constructing a stockpile to loading a hauling unit.
Features
Dynamic Terrain
This allows the instructor operator and the trainee to physically see and interact with heightened and lowered terrain using vehicles such as the grader, scraper, and dozer.
Using AVT’s dynamic terrain software, the student and the instructor are able to use the vehicles e.g. the Dozer and while operating they are able to see not only the contents which they are pushing but also the vehicle tracks, different grades of the soil, compacted terrain, and uncompacted terrain. When doing leveling operations (grading) any excess material in the blade will move along the blade and create a window to the side of the blade as one would expect.
Motion Platform
With the use of a motion platform with three degrees of freedom, the simulator can pitch forward and backward, roll/tilt to the left and right, and heave up and down. It can also vibrate to simulate the response of no-load engine idle conditions.
The motion platform receives inputs from the variant’s physics model to give feedback to the operator. In this manner, the platform will roll, pitch, and heave appropriately depending on the movements in the simulated vehicle.
When the simulated vehicle interacts with objects in the terrain the effects of these interactions are mapped to movements on the platform (e.g. pushing the bucket of an excavator into the ground, will lift the tracks off the ground and the motion platform will pitch/roll accordingly).
Scenario Design
Scenarios specify the vehicle, the terrain, the steps the student must perform, the prompts that should be displayed, and the scoring scheme that should be used in the grading score. This system allows for self-explanatory courseware and easily estimating where the trainee’s abilities are lacking or improving.
System Reconfigurability
Reconfigurability gives the instructor the option to remove the entire vehicle cab and all its controls to reinstall another vehicle cab containing entirely different controls.
By providing a way to remove the entire vehicle cab and all controls from the motion base and reinstall another vehicle cab containing entirely different controls the instructor and student can experience multiple platforms very quickly.
This process allows two people to reconfigure the simulator from one vehicle variant to another in less than 5 minutes, vastly outperforming the CEVT reconfiguration requirement of 60 minutes or less.
Vehicle Dynamics
These software components have similar inputs and outputs as their real-world counterparts in order to simulate a particular machine’s behavior as accurately as possible.
CEVT and AVT
AVT is excited and determined to provide our customers with the best product possible to fill all requirements and needs. Our integration process ensures only the most efficient and cost-effective components are used for the satisfaction of our customers.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to provide Army Engineers with a training solution that will increase their readiness. We look forward to working with our extremely competent and proven teammate, 5DT, to deliver this capability to the Soldier. As they say at Ft. Leonard Wood – Essayons!”
Kevin Vizzarri, Vice President of Business Development at AVT Simulation.construction equipment virtual trainer
Learn More
Want to learn about Simulation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), or Law and Corporate Practices? Check out our Training Courses!
Learn more about how AVT Simulation helps change the simulation training industry with our products and services.
Initially, Applied Visual Technology Inc., AVT has been developing modeling and simulation expertise through engineering services since 1998. This is due to our founder who has accumulated over 30 years of military MS&T expertise in aviation applications. Nonetheless, everyone at AVT specializes in making old training systems new again and making new ones for less. Consequently, for 20 years AVT has served our Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine customers by providing the highest quality of service and solutions. Following its inception, AVT’s highly specialized staff of engineers has included some of the top leaders in the simulation industry. With over 20 years of simulation experience, our dedicated team provides specialized solutions for customers with complex problems.