June 24, 2021 – HTX Labs, a provider of immersive training and simulation programs, has recently announced that it has been awarded a new Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract with the US Navy. HTX Labs stated that it worked jointly with Air Force and Navy contracting officers to successfully transfer its AFWERX Phase II contract across military branches, leveraging the results from previous Air Force efforts to deliver value to the Navy.
The new Navy SBIR award is targeted at further advancing HTX Labs’ EMPACT immersive training platform to enable the development and delivery of immersive training content for both current and incoming student pilots with the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) Primary Flight Training Program.
In particular, the project will include enhancements to HTX’s T-6B virtual aircraft and EMPACT platform necessary to create and distribute portable, multi-modal immersive training to teach aircraft system academics, provide normal and emergency procedural training with consequential learning, and implement new analytics capture and visualization capabilities required to address the evolving training needs of Navy pilots.
“Development of virtual reality part-task training is important to the Navy. Chief of Naval Air Training is constantly evaluating new and innovative ways to improve pilot and flight officer training,” said LCDR Kerry Bistline. “These types of systems offer the potential to further enhance student preparation, understanding, and application of procedures throughout the ground and flight phases of training.”
To provide Navy airmen with critical pilot training content, HTX will leverage and enhance its EMPACT Studio immersive content authoring product to satisfy certain Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) flight manual requirements, allowing NAVAIR to create expert-led and student-centered interactive pilot training material, according to HTX. The EMPACT platform enables the creation and deployment of immersive training content, allowing Navy airmen to experience training on virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMDs), laptops, and tablets, meaning students can effectively train anytime, anywhere, on any device.
“We are excited to have successfully transferred our Air Force SBIR Phase II to the US Navy to continue the important work of leveraging immersive technology to train pilots more effectively, to shorten the training cycle, and to play a role in addressing the pilot shortage across the US military,” said Scott Schneider, co-Founder and CEO of HTX Labs. “We look forward to expanding our capabilities to deliver immersive training for the T-6B as well as other airframes to support the Navy’s mission of developing a highly prepared and proficient airman.”
For more information on HTX Labs and its EMPACT immersive training platform, please visit the company’s website.
Image credit: HTX Labs
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Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.