The Satellite Review Magazine 2017 Satellite Review Magazine_pages hi res | Page 8

THE TOP 5 REASONS YOU SHOULD
TAKE VIRTUAL REALITY SERIOUSLY
By Ian McGregor, Director, Emulate 3D Ltd.
If you have anything to do with the de-
sign, specification, or implementation of
material handling systems, then Virtual
Reality (and Augmented Reality) will be
of growing importance to you in the near
future. In fact, it’s already important, and
here’s why:
when we see heads and hands – they point,
nod, and give subtle signals that ease com-
munication and which are invaluable to
leading conversations forward in a natural
way, within a virtual environment.
Participants need not be in the same office,
state, or even the same country, and can
connect remotely to meet in the virtual
environment – and this in turn leads to
other very tangible benefits.
1. It’ll increase effective communi-
cation between project stakehold-
ers
If you’ve already had the opportunity to
experience a running 3D simulation mod-
el in virtual reality, you’ll know why this is
a game-changer in terms of understanding
how the proposed solution operates, how
it integrates with any existing equipment
within the facility, how maintenance access
is or isn’t possible, and fundamentally,
what it will feel like to be there.
Before trying out a virtual reality headset
many people are unclear on the advantages
it offers over more traditional means of
demonstrating the operation of a simula-
tion model such as viewing it on a moni-
tor; after they’ve tried it, the comparison is
moot.
Several people can experience the same
model simultaneously, and see and
communicate with each other within the
model. Each user simply logs into an IP
address provided by the person running
the model. Participants can be teleported
around the model as a group to discuss
different areas, and can also move around
independently. As each user logs on, they
appear in the model as a head, a body,
and two hands. These correspond to the
VR headset and controllers (the body is
reasonably assumed to be below the head)
and the equipment provides positional
information reflected in the virtual world.
While merely being in the model allows
participants to experience it, the avatar is
important if communication between par-
ticipants is required. We understand better
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2. It’ll shorten AMHS project devel-
opment times
Successful automation projects are the
triumph of effective organisation over
unavoidable complexity. Frequent and
friction-free communication is crucial to
ensuring all stakeholders work towards a
common and clearly-understood objec-
tive, and virtual meetings based around
the current state of progress are central
to this. Reflect on how this is carried out
without virtual meetings – people get on
planes and drive cars to distant meetings.
The time spent in the meeting is largely
overshadowed by the time spent traveling,
so meetings are infrequent and are often
planned well in advance. Between meet-
ings, communications are compromised
as issues are either “stored away until the
meeting” or dealt with less effectively by
phone or online.
The ease of holding virtual meetings
means they can be frequent but short
– very much to the point and focused
on taking decisions as soon as they are
needed.
Many automation projects include
building physical prototypes to enable
stakeholders to experience the proposed
solution and work through ergonomics
considerations – these aspects are dealt
with comprehensively in a virtual environ-
ment, and CAD changes are rapidly imple-
mented. Fewer or no physical prototypes

are needed in a project which includes VR,
shortening development time further.
3. It’ll drive the advantages of Digi-
tal Twins
Virtual prototypes are digital twins; orig-
inally defined as a “digital representation
of a physical asset”, in this context it is easy
to see a simulation or emulation model as
a digital twin of the real system. Both are
valuable tools when automation projects
are being developed, and industry increas-
ingly recognizes their value in the context
of ongoing changes to the installed system.
Simulations are data-driven models
designed to help understand throughput,
resource utilization, storage dimensioning,
and other aspects of the system perfor-
mance under various inputs and operating
constraints, whereas emulation models
verify the correct operation of the con-
trol system. Both can be run, tested, and
experimented interactively from within a
VR environment.
4. It’ll reduce your carbon emis-
sions
All companies are under increasing share-
holder scrutiny to become more effective
at reducing their carbon footprint – virtual
meetings replacing flights and other travel,
as well as reducing the overall duration of
any automation project are clearly playing
a part in achieving these goals.
5. It’ll save you money
Always the bottom line, and another
popular item with shareholders, clients
and all other stakeholders – VR provides a
means to control and reduce expenditure.
Fewer flights, less time wasted traveling,
fewer hotel rooms and taxis, fewer or no
physical prototypes, shorter overall project
duration – these are all tangible and real
advantages providing measurable savings.
www. WestfaliaUSA.com