I/ITSEC 2024 Day 2: Exhibition Floor Walkabout Highlights

Moog featured a cutting-edge CH-47 Chinook flight training device at its booth with features that allowed the operator to wear a VR headset – for starters. 

The FTD’s attributes also included a top-of-the-line motion platform with 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) built to last. The author was fortunate to meet up during his visit with Noud Van Bavel, global marketing manager for Simulation and Test Systems at the company. 

The Netherlands-based executive provided key insights not only on his company’s portfolio but on overarching trends and developments in the sector. Asked what primary requirement the motion base supplier is responding to, Van Bavel emphasized: “It’s all about fidelity – smoothness, making sure that the fidelity is on par with what they need, it must be silent so there is no negative training, and responsiveness, especially with smaller helicopter types where you need agility to operate.” 

And while the displayed CH-47 FTD’s payload is about 200-300 kg [441-661lbs], Moog typically works to support full-flight simulator payloads up to 14 tons. And this should be no surprise, as in many other S&T materiel sectors, Moog supports training and related requirements beyond the military – in commercial aviation and even for driving simulators “which is a big market,” according the community subject matter expert. 

In one instance, Moog has delivered “very advanced driving sims for premium German manufacturers.” Moog has two product releases on tap for 2025: E60 Series and P60 Series motion systems. “The E60 is very much tailored toward the major integrators in the US. The P60 is designed to fulfill energy efficiency,” the executive concluded.

Visual Display Developments

The author interviewed 3D perception (3DP)’s CEO, Knut Krogstad, on the heels of several major developments at the Norwegian-based company. This October, 3DP acquired Univisual Technologies Nordic AB (Univisuals). 

The action brought the acquired firm’s Warpalizer technology and other capabilities into 3DP’s portfolio. On December 3, 3DP announced the upcoming release, for early of 2025, of WarpCore, a next generation software warp and blend processing technology for seamless immersive displays for the high-end simulation market. 

3DP featured its Atlas Fixed-Wing Simulator Dome and Draco Fast Jet Mini-Dome at this year’s I/ITSEC. The CEO pointed out his company “is rather unique” in its visual display business model, in that “we mostly use our own technology for the core functions in the display system, including the image processing, the calibration technology and the software to control it all. But we also use COTS components for IGs, projectors, cabling and other materiel.” 

On that note, the Atlas 270 demonstrator is supported by Barco, Aechelon and MultiSIM. The Draco demonstrator is supported by Norxe, MultiSIM and Silverdraft. And what about the emerging opinion in some quarters of the defense aviation market that domes and like training capacity are becoming irrelevant with the emergence of XR-based, more agile, training devices. 

“XR has its space, but not for the high-end, complex training that many pilots go through. Essentially, things like your peripheral vision when you are flying low-level formation flights and more complex missions, it is really important that you have the full field-of-view that you can only get in a full-dome display. And, of course, the issue with simulator sickness and similar issues are still present when you are running a long exercise in HMDs. In complex missions, they need to run 20-30 minutes.” The CEO further invited the author to gain additional insights on the topic by speaking with a former pilot supporting 3DP’s conference booth displays.

Norxe is stepping up its sector presence with new projector offerings. At the conference delegates were able to view a number of these new products including the P60 projector with 8K resolution and up to a 240HZ refresh rate. Sondre Fauskanger, senior product manager at the company, said the projector with allfunctionalities for this highest rating will be available for shipping in April 2025.