Immersive Display Solutions and Varjo Partner on High-Fidelity Mixed Reality Simulation and Training Solutions

Immersive Display Solutions, Inc. (IDSI) and Varjo have signed an agreement to enhance their business relationship by leveraging Varjo’s industry-leading mixed reality head-mounted displays to expand IDSI’s simulation and training capabilities. By incorporating the Varjo XR-3 Focal Edition to IDSI’s solution offering, they are able to provide a realistic training experience where trainees can engage in hands-on training while immersed in a virtual environment.

IDSI is a leading supplier of immersive training visual display solutions for both military and industrial applications. IDSI has deployed more than 600 training solutions over the past 17 years. Varjo is the global technology leader in advanced virtual and mixed reality hardware and cloud services for professional use, seamlessly merging the real and digital worlds in human-eye resolution.

The partnership begins with IDSI integrating Varjo’s latest XR-3 Focal Edition headset into IDSI’s turnkey Extended Reality (XR) solution, ChromaXR. ChromaXR is purpose built to transport the user to a virtual training environment while still seeing the real world in the foreground (Augmented Virtuality). ChromaXR supports multi-mode occlusion including video pass-through chroma, depth or marker occlusion. The technique of ‘chroma keying’ or ‘green screening’ is the 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.

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, read/writing, and exchange 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. “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.”

“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,” said Seppo Aaltonen, Varjo’s Chief Commercial Officer.

IDSI and Varjo will showcase the ChromaXR extended reality training solutions hands-on at IT2EC in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on April 24–26 at stand D40.