Loft Dynamics, formerly VRM Switzerland, raises $20M to transform virtual reality pilot training - Vertical Magazine

Estimated speechmaking clip 9 minutes, 52 seconds.

Loft Dynamics AG, creator of the world’s archetypal and lone virtual world (VR) simulator authorized by a large aviation regulator, contiguous announced it has re-branded and raised $20M successful financing. This is the company’s archetypal organization round, led by U.S. exertion investors Craft Ventures, Sky Dayton, and Up Ventures. The backing volition accelerate Loft Dynamics’ maturation into planetary markets, peculiarly the USA. The rebranding from VRM Switzerland to Loft Dynamics positions the institution for planetary enlargement astatine a clip erstwhile the aviator shortage has reached a situation constituent and the request to trim aerial contamination has ne'er been much urgent.

“After galore years successful development, we are acceptable to grow Loft Dynamics to go a planetary institution and bring our exertion and grooming solutions to the world,” said Fabi Riesen, Co-Founder & CEO of Loft Dynamics. “This backing comes astatine precisely the close infinitesimal arsenic we volition beryllium capable to conscionable the escalating request for formation schools and accelerate the scope of craft types we support.”

Loft Dynamics is already serving customers specified arsenic Airbus Helicopters, Air Zermatt, Colorado Highland Helicopters, Helitrans Norway, Meravo, and Mountainflyers. Flight schools, airlines, fleet operators, governments, and craft manufacturers are queuing up for a amended solution to aviator training. With less pilots coming retired of the military, and the wide status of pilots during the COVID-19 pandemic, the planetary request for trained pilots has ne'er been higher. Loft Dynamics delivers highly efficient, exceptionally realistic, non-polluting, and dramatically little costly aviator training.

“When open-minded entrepreneurs use innovative exertion to a information objective, ample changes are imaginable successful a abbreviated clip frame. Loft Dynamics is paving the mode for the integration of Virtual Reality applications successful aviator training,” said Patrick Ky, Executive Director and caput of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). “EASA looks guardant to seeing the formation information benefits of this arsenic soon arsenic possible, successful enactment with the nonsubjective of EASA’s Rotorcraft Safety Roadmap of expanding information by 50% by the extremity of 2028 compared with 2017 figures.”

1/10th the size, 1/20th the cost

Loft Dynamics replaces bequest formation simulators and makes grooming safer. Traditional full-motion formation simulators are expensive, elephantine apparatuses lone disposable successful constricted grooming centers built specifically to location them. As a result, students are forced to implicit astir of their grooming successful the existent aircraft, which is costly and impractical for astir aspiring pilots.

Over the past six years, the squad of engineers and aviation experts astatine Loft Dynamics developed a safer, much accessible, and much realistic grooming alternative: a unsocial chopper simulator combining a high-resolution VR system, a dynamic six-degrees-of-freedom question platform, and a full-scale replica cockpit – successful a bundle 10 times smaller and astir 20 times little costly than accepted full-motion simulators. What’s more, it cuts aerial clip grooming by up to 60%.

“At Airbus Helicopters, we are committed to pushing exertion guardant to heighten information successful training,” says Christoph Zammert, Executive Vice-President Customer Support & Services astatine Airbus Helicopters, a Loft Dynamics strategical spouse and customer. “The Loft Dynamics simulator allows pilots to regularly bid the afloat scope of normal, abnormal, and exigency procedures, successful summation to each mode of upwind conditions – safely and immersively anyplace successful the world.”

The “Real” Thing

Loft Dynamics’ simulators supply pilots with a highly realistic and immersive formation experience. They harvester panoramic views wrong and extracurricular the craft – from nonstop perspectives to precise colors, shading, vibrations, amended ocular cues, dramatically much realistic question and dependable characteristics of the existent aircraft. The aviator experiences the close loads and unit feedback from formation controls and is afloat immersed.

“As a pitchy pilot, I person spent countless hours successful accepted formation simulators, and unfortunately, I cognize their limitations,” said Sky Dayton, capitalist and laminitis of Earthlink and Boingo Wireless, who is joining Loft Dynamics’ committee of directors. “I heard astir this innovative institution successful Zurich combining VR with motion, and flew to Switzerland to spot it for myself. I was blown distant by the realism: I landed connected a runway, and arsenic the skids touched down, I could consciousness the texture of the asphalt. I practiced exigency procedures that would beryllium highly unsafe successful an existent helicopter. Days later, I inactive had the musculus representation of the movements and vibrations of the existent aircraft. Loft Dynamics is going to revolutionize aviator training.”

A Modernized Training Platform

Unlike accepted simulators, the Loft Dynamics grooming level provides tremendous flexibility for caller modules, enabling pilots to bid for what they volition brushwood successful existent beingness earlier they brushwood it.

The flexibility of the level means that successful the future, exigency effect pilots volition beryllium capable to signifier landing connected each gathering successful their city, firefighter pilots volition alert the mountains wherever they volition beryllium battling wildfires, grooming and retraining musculus representation and reflexes. Mountain flying, nighttime operations, upwind and windshear recovery, rescue, sling load carrying – the possibilities to make and bid scenarios are endless.

World’s First Regulatory Approval Loft Dynamics is the world’s archetypal and lone VR afloat question simulator qualified by a large aviation regulator, with European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) authorization successful May 2022 arsenic an EASA FTD Level 3 Flight Simulation Training Device (FSTD) for the Airbus H125 (developed successful collaboration with Airbus Helicopters), the astir fashionable single-engine turbine chopper successful the world, and the Robinson R22, the astir fashionable piston helicopter. This means that pilots tin bid successful Loft Dynamics simulators and person recognition arsenic though successful the existent aircraft. Full equivalency has ne'er been granted to a VR strategy before.

This property merchandise was prepared and distributed by Loft Dynamics