Truckers Train with Serious Games
CARLISLE, Pa. — Dennis Colwell stared hard at the side-view mirror and gripped the steering wheel before attempting to maneuver around a pickup parked between his 18-wheeler and the loading dock.
"If I make it, it's going to be paper thin," Colwell said to his instructor, Jay Gamble. But the implicit request for guidance was denied: "If I wasn't here," Gamble reminded Colwell, "what would you do?"
Colwell took a deep breath, put the truck into gear and inched forward.
In many ways, this scenario could be found at truck driving schools across the country. But Colwell's experience at Schneider National's training program was very different from the industry norm in one key respect. He wasn't driving, or even sitting in, a real truck.
Instead, he was in a classroom, buckled into the seat of what looked and sounded very much like a high quality video game but was actually a state-of-the-art training simulator.
The virtual parking lot Colwell navigated was created with animation software, though the experience was quite realistic. Three wide-screen monitors gave a 180-degree field of vision. The simulator was equipped with a steering wheel and clutch that put up life-like resistance, an electronic dashboard that tracked the truck's vital statistics and a horn, which Colwell honked before backing up.
Those who have never driven a big rig would need at least a few hours of instruction on double-clutching and shifting before they could drive a simulated truck without having it stall out.
Top-notch simulators have been used by the military, commercial airlines and public safety agencies for years, but Schneider, based in Green Bay, Wis., is one of only a handful of U.S. trucking companies making big bets on the technology.
(by Brad Foss, Associated Press, December 29)
"If I make it, it's going to be paper thin," Colwell said to his instructor, Jay Gamble. But the implicit request for guidance was denied: "If I wasn't here," Gamble reminded Colwell, "what would you do?"
Colwell took a deep breath, put the truck into gear and inched forward.
In many ways, this scenario could be found at truck driving schools across the country. But Colwell's experience at Schneider National's training program was very different from the industry norm in one key respect. He wasn't driving, or even sitting in, a real truck.
Instead, he was in a classroom, buckled into the seat of what looked and sounded very much like a high quality video game but was actually a state-of-the-art training simulator.
The virtual parking lot Colwell navigated was created with animation software, though the experience was quite realistic. Three wide-screen monitors gave a 180-degree field of vision. The simulator was equipped with a steering wheel and clutch that put up life-like resistance, an electronic dashboard that tracked the truck's vital statistics and a horn, which Colwell honked before backing up.
Those who have never driven a big rig would need at least a few hours of instruction on double-clutching and shifting before they could drive a simulated truck without having it stall out.
Top-notch simulators have been used by the military, commercial airlines and public safety agencies for years, but Schneider, based in Green Bay, Wis., is one of only a handful of U.S. trucking companies making big bets on the technology.
(by Brad Foss, Associated Press, December 29)
posted by Jim Kiggens at 9:22 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home