It’s perhaps fitting for an interactive 3D technology business that does so much work in the rail sector that we view the past year in terms of landmarks reached, and the year to come in terms of exciting new destinations approaching at speed!
At the same time, our work in the road, driving, training, and simulation sectors has produced no shortage of memorable moments in 2021, and is carving out a strong growth path into 2022.
So, here’s a quick seasonal roundup of the past, the present, and the yet to come – and what it means for how we will continue to serve our customers’ needs and exceed their expectations.
Unreal Engine: incredible realism for driving simulation
One of our proudest achievements in 2021 was working with leading driving simulator specialist AVSimulation to bring the best of the latest SCANeR Studio release and Unreal Engine integration to customers in the UK market.
AVSimulation solutions are used globally to support research and to train not only drivers, but also Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles.
Our work with AVSimulation has enabled us both to upgrade UK simulators’ existing 3D environments and develop new environment models to achieve a stunning uplift in simulation quality – enabling them to gain a critical edge over the competition.
You can read some more about our work with AVSimulation in this previous post.
HORIBA MIRA: pushing autonomous vehicles to their limits
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, goes the saying, and our work with HORIBA MIRA in 2021 made good use of our expertise in the AVSimulation solutions described above – with exceptional results.
HORIBA MIRA’s development of a world-leading testbed to train Connected Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) systems was conceived to push them to their very limits by confronting them with every roadgoing challenge a human driver could expect to have to cope with.
The end-product of our work on the project was a 3D model designed and built by Agility3 specifically to work with the Unreal Engine visual system. It was a complex undertaking, comprising many prior stages of physical data capture, detailed 3D modelling and integration.
The project has paved the way for the development of safer, more self-aware, but also better-performing (and therefore commercially more compelling) CAV systems.
You can read more in our case study.
BCRRE and ProRail: safer driving for smarter trains
“Collaborating with Agility3 has enabled our train driving simulation to advance to the next level” – this is what Dr. David Kirkwood, Senior Research Fellow at Birmingham Centre for Rail Research and Education (BCRRE), said of the 3D solution we developed for his organisation.
In brief, the solution has enabled BCRRE to quickly and easily generate, edit and visualise immersive 3D virtual railway environments, as seen from the driver’s cab, from raw track data.
Netherlands rail manager ProRail is already using Agility3’s solution to visualise its networks from the point of view of the driver in the wake of changes introduced by the European Rail Transport Management System (ERTMS), to ensure that safe, efficient, punctual service is maintained.
You can learn more about our work for BCRRE in this recent short article, and about our delivery of the ProRail project here.
2022 – what next for Agility3?
Nobody has a crystal ball – but our expertise places us at the epicentre of an industry that is set to grow by 17.2% annually between 2022 and 2027, according to recent research.
The rise of autonomous vehicles and the Europe-wide overhaul of rail network infrastructure and optimisation of rail traffic management are all certainly driving the agenda.
But we believe one of the areas in which we will play strongest is in VR, as it emerges as an even more formidable force in shaping how products are developed, environments are understood, training is imparted, and even how purchase transactions are made.
And as we explored in our recent post, today’s generation of students and prospective employees have grown up in a world where technology, simulation, gaming and for many, VR are already second nature. It is what they will expect of their training, their work, and their buying habits – and the technology has to come from somewhere!
Still, the festive season has not yet been and gone, so perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves here. So, whatever the future brings (and, let’s face it, we can all hope for a better time than we’ve recently had!) it remains only to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Have some real – not virtual – fun, and let’s catch up in 2022.