How does VR work in Ukraine?

"Sensory Systems of Ukraine" participated in the creation of a virtual simulator that helps train captains The expression "storm in a glass" now takes on a new meaning. Not "in a glass", but within one room, indeed, you can get into a storm. Survive a real storm, sail your ship through the waves – and survive. This is not just a virtual game with "full immersion". This is a training base for sailors. The best in the Black Sea basin. The original virtual simulator is installed in the Kherson State Maritime Academy, where maritime specialists are trained-from ship mechanics to captains. Here they learn the science of navigation, acquire skills in the repair and operation of ships, learn all the "details" of maritime affairs, including cargo loading, negotiations with maritime companies, economic and marketing features of the segment. Everything that concerns practical skills can now be worked out even within the walls of the university. It is an honor for us to open the first real virtual vessel in Ukraine, if not in Europe, on the basis of our educational institution, " said the rector of the Kherson State Maritime Academy, Vladimir Khodakovsky, at the official presentation of the new equipment.

"Game" or reality?

The training base consists of several rooms that are fully adapted for working with simulators. The students "work" in the finished "engine room" of the vessel, which fully complies with international standards. Here, in the virtual space, future mechanical engineers face very real situations of breakdowns, equipment failure, routine repairs in difficult conditions. An indispensable training school for the inevitable force majeure circumstances, in which sooner or later every conqueror of the sea element finds himself. The captain's bridge is even more impressive: in addition to the simulator of the entire complex of necessary instruments and devices for controlling the ship, the bridge is equipped with "windows" through which the endless expanse of the sea with its dangers is visible. "Windows" are actually touch-screen monitors that display the situations laid down in the program: a storm with strong pitching, a thunderstorm with heavy rain, fog with zero visibility… All the nuances of heavy shipping, all the details of compliance with the laws of territorial waters – any unforeseen situation can be programmed and "played out". The main advantage of a virtual vessel is the possibility of a mistake, which is better to allow in the walls of the office, but not to allow in reality. It is impossible not to note how lucky those who love computer games are: here it is-complete immersion, loss of connection with reality when it is necessary to think and act right now. Of course, the virtual danger can not be compared with the real one. But overcoming the first fear, passing the first tests that the chosen profession prepares-all this seems very real in such a kind of "gym". Of course, simulators for training sailors have been used for educational purposes before. However, new technologies also create a completely new space, which you are more willing to "believe", in which you acclimatize faster, preparing for the conditions of future work.

What equipment was used

To fully simulate a "real" ship at sea, we used software developed by European IT companies and implemented the program with the help of equipment from the "Sensor Systems of Ukraine" team. We provided the Kherson State Maritime Academy with ET2201L and ET3243L touch monitors (22 and 32 inches, respectively. - Ed.), - says the company's expert Denis Zinchenko. – Such monitors, in addition to giving a high-quality "picture", almost indistinguishable from reality, also have resistance to damage, can be used for decades. That is the very "windows" in which future captains "see" the approaching storm, which reflect the sparkling lightning and convey the feeling of pitching. The monitors are used not only to create the "illusion of the open sea", but also accurately simulate all the equipment of both the engine room and the bridge. Ship management, troubleshooting-everything is done with the help of sensor equipment. Imagine a smartphone with an ultra-sensitive and super-large screen, which helps not just to scroll through the contact database or go to a social network – but to control the ship! All equipment is certified, has been tested, and meets the requirements of safety and relevance for the professional training of students.

Who is studying the new simulators

Already today, more than seven thousand students are getting their first sea experience on innovative simulators. Among them are both citizens of Ukraine and foreigners. Since 2016, education at the academy can also be obtained in English. There are enough people who want to use this service – after all, a year ago the European Business Assembly recognized this university as the best in the field of training marine personnel. Graduates cooperate with shipping and crewing companies all over the world. To a large extent – thanks to the most modern training systems on a virtual vessel. By the way, not only students but also "active" sailors can take a re-certification course, taking advantage of innovative educational equipment. You will also appreciate them! VR helmet Planexta Pure Purr from Ukrainian developers will relieve stress with the help of sound stimuli based on cat purring Just a month ago, we wrote about an unusual Japanese gadget for stress relief, which stands out with an original design with a robotic tail. Now it has become known about the preparation for the release of an equally original alternative from the Planexta team of Ukrainian developers. The project is called Pure Purr. And this is a special version of the Chinese VR helmet Bobo VR X1 on Android Nibiru, designed to relieve physiological stress. The interest, in this case, is caused by the method of relieving this stress. Ukrainian developers suggest using cat purring as an anti-stress therapy. For the most impressionable, we repeat — cat purring. However, it is worth mentioning that these will not be the usual sounds that we are all used to hearing from cats, but specially modified sound stimuli. The development is based on the so-called binaural bits. As the founder of the startup Evgeny Naishtetik tells, the way to create a sound effect when one note is played in the left and right ear is slightly different. The headphones built into the helmet will play sounds with a frequency of 12 Hz or more. According to Evgeny, six stimuli are used to relieve physiological stress from the user: from specific binaural effects synchronized in phases to a hypnotic pendulum, whatever that means. The team spent more than two weeks creating the first sound stimulus in the studio. Now the team is writing a program that will be able to reduce audio content by an algorithm without human participation. In addition, in the future, the developers plan to diversify these very sound stimuli. The impact on the patient is assessed by analyzing the heart rate variability. The same approach is used in another device of the team-the SenceBand bracelet for monitoring the emotional state, which we have already written about earlier. In the future, Pure Purr will be able to work in tandem with SenceBand. Now the prototype of the device is undergoing clinical trials at the Doctor Sam clinic. At the same time, preclinical studies on a limited sample (50 people) demonstrated effectiveness in more than 85% of cases after 5 minutes of exposure. The first batch of ready-made Pure Purr helmets is planned to be released in February, they will cost approximately $600 apiece. On April 26, Kyiv will host a virtual tour of Chernobyl and Pripyat as part of the Chernobyl VR project "ghost town. World premiere of travel " on April 26, 2016, on the thirtieth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, the Museum of History of Kyiv will host the world premiere of the Chernobyl VR Project called "ghost town. World premiere of travel". The Chernobyl VR Project app is the world's first virtual tour of Chernobyl and Pripyat, combining a photorealistic journey to the heart of a closed area and the educational benefits of an interactive documentary. The creators of the Chernobyl VR Project managed to recreate the crash site very accurately. The app is designed for today's most popular VR devices, including Oculus, Morpheus, HTC Vive, and Samsung Gear VR mobile. As part of the premiere, a specially prepared showroom (demonstration of VR technology) will be opened, where you can use special equipment in VR to go on an interactive journey through the exclusion zone. For two weeks in the center of Kyiv, everyone will have the possibility to get acquainted with virtual reality for free and see the exclusivity of the Chernobyl VR Project. The event is organized by the Polish company The Farm 51, Fundacja Otwarty Dialog, as well as the Ukrainian Institute of national memory, the image Agency of Ukraine, and the public organization Global Ukraine. The premiere takes place with the support and patronage of the head of the Kyiv city state administration Vitali Klitschko. The purpose of the event is to present in Kyiv the world's first VR project dedicated to Ukraine. Through interactive travel, we want to spread information and raise awareness about the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in a safe and realistic way, as well as financially help those affected by the fourth reactor explosion. The project also aims to start Polish-Ukrainian cooperation in the field of VR/it and become the basis for future joint projects in this area. In addition, the Chernobyl VR Project can give an impetus to the rapid development of VR technology in Ukraine. - noted the organizers. The organizers of the event invite everyone who wants to get acquainted with VR technology and ChernobylVRProject from April 26 to May 10 to the Museum of history of the city of Kyiv (Bogdan Khmelnytskyi STR. 7), Admission is free. How the virtual reality space "Planet VR" works The network of cinemas "Planet Cinema" has opened a new project "Planet VR" in Kyiv in a test mode, which the creators call the virtual reality space. Approximately the same format is now being opened around the world by IMAX, so it was interesting what the Ukrainian company managed to implement. At the moment, "Planet VR" includes 20 spacious boxes with a rubberized floor, each of which is designed for one player. The boxes are half open and equipped with a TV, so if you come to play with a company, you can watch what is happening in the game itself. In the boxes themselves, in addition to the TV, there is an HTC Vive virtual reality headset, HyperX Cloud II over-ear headphones, as well as two controllers. Special sensors in the box warn the player not to hit the wall. In the game, they start drawing a grid in place of the wall as soon as the user approaches it. At the same time, the controllers for HTC Vive are equipped with special protective attachments to protect them from accidental hits against the wall, if the player suddenly does not calculate the distance to it. There are no wires on the floor of the box, they are all suspended and fixed, and the helmet itself is attached to a stretchable cable. Accordingly, there is no risk of getting tangled in the wires. For the virtual reality headset to work, each box has a separate computer with an Intel Core i7 processor, 12 GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 video card. This configuration allows you to comfortably play modern VR games. Before the user starts the game, both the helmet and the controllers are wiped with a disinfectant liquid. From other rules of the hall: children under 12 are not recommended to try a virtual reality headset, they will be allowed to play only with the consent of their parents. The same applies to pregnant women and people with sensitive psyches. At the moment, Planet VR offers 9 games, while a certain game is assigned to each box, respectively, you can't just go into the box and choose what you want to play. This is due to the licensing of games that involve commercial use, one game can be run on one computer. The most popular games at the moment are Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope, SUPERHOT VR, and TO THE TOP. In the future, the catalog of games will be updated and changed. In addition, in the future, Planeta VR plans to expand VR content and offer visitors not only games but also videos or small films. There are also plans to diversify the game controllers by adding rifles and swords to the standard Vive joysticks. The cost of one session in" Planet VR " varies depending on the game and time, at the moment 20 minutes of the game costs 75 UAH, 30 minutes — 115 UAH, and 50 minutes — 195 UAH. From my experience, I can say that 20 minutes is quite enough to play one of those games that are presented in "Planet VR", they are all quite simple. Accordingly, it is better to take a session for 50 minutes for two. As a result, a trip to such a VR hall costs about as much as a trip to the cinema. In the "Planet of Cinema" itself, the new project is still being considered as an experiment, the company expects that over the next 6 months it will be seen whether it will be able to pay for itself. Its future fate depends on this, as well as the possibility of the appearance of "Planet VR" halls in other cities.

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