Forklift training goes ‘virtual’

News Story
- 5 May 2016 ( #768 ) - Brussels, Belgium
3 min read
FL-Simulator attracted strong interest at Modex
FL-Simulator attracted strong interest at Modex
By Luc De Smet
FL-Simulators Europe will premier its VR forklift simulator at CeMAT later this month. The FL-Simulator is equipped with the newest 360° Oculus stereoscopic goggles that provide the trainee with a set of training scenarios in an immersive, full 3D environment.

The driving force behind the start-up is Belgian developer and designer Jelmen Lombaerts, who recently showed the latest version of the VR simulator on a Hyster-Yale truck at Modex in Atlanta, USA.

Simulator training aims to reduce training costs and risks of damage and accidents on the floor.

This time last year, an earlier version of the simulator had received the MHI (Material Handling Institute) Best New Innovation Award at the 2015 Promat fair in Chicago.

The simulator was a pet project of Lombaerts at the UCAN communication bureau, where he was working. UCAN's simulator developments started in 2010 when it pitched the idea to Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE). In an initial version, large screens were mounted onto an actual forklift. The simulator of the internal combustion counterbalance Toyota truck was first shown at Toyota's CeMAT 2011 stand. TMHE drove it around Europe as a demonstrator.

"The screens were eventually replaced by LED screens, but only later did we experiment with (virtual reality) and head tracking that provides the driver with a more lifelike experience," says Lombaerts.

VR requires a different amount of detail and 'crispness'. Simulating a forklift in operation is a different ballgame to aircraft simulation: "A forklift driver gets a lot closer to things than the pilot of an aircraft. For immersion, leaning forwards or sideways will result in a quite different view of the forks or through the mast."

Subsequent improvements wereaimed at reducing the weight and volume of the simulator to make handling more practical. "We reduced things to a smaller, pallet-sized unit. It still weighs 300 kg, but it is easier to set up in a classroom environment. Yet, the equipment remains sturdy and can survive some handling."

It took four years of research and development before a prototype was presented at Promat 2015.

Since then, 10 VR units have been sold from Singapore to NewYork and Western Europe, including to the DHL Innovation Centre.

"After the Innovation Award, we were not ready to scale up." In June 2015, Lombaerts and his partner went their separate ways. Lombaerts took on the simulator technology and set up FL-Simulators Inc. in California, USA, where two new partners are in charge of marketing and technology.

The prototype was refined, based on reactions and requests received at Promat.

A year later, the result was shown at Modex in Atlanta. Now that the product is considered to be fully developed, FL-Simulators wants to go full-throttle.

"We use general parts of real forklifts and CanBus for the controls. That allows us to diversify our offering towards other machines using CanBus technology.

"We are now also developing an electric reach truck simulator."

The hardware unit is fairly basic: steering wheel, dashboard, controls on the armrest, etc. A new software release has further improved graphics for Facebook's latest Oculus Rift headset. The software can be expanded to deal with a variety of configurations, masts and attachments. Extra functions - grippers for paper rolls or cylinders, etc.- can be added on request.

The company kicked off in the US where security is high on companies' priority list and these seem to be more 'technology-savvy', according to Lombaerts. "In Europe, companies are probably more reactive, but that is why we will be at CeMAT." Recently, he also set up a company in Belgium - FL Simulators Europe - headquartered in Mechelen. "We are now looking for extra space for our R&D and are ramping up production."
TMH delivers training simulator
TMH delivers training simulator 10 Feb 2022 - Tallinn, Estonia - 1 min read
Riwal adds virtual reality to app
Riwal adds virtual reality to app 2 May 2019 - Dordrecht, Netherlands - 1 min read
Hamilton-Ryker uses VR for training
Hamilton-Ryker uses VR for training 21 Feb 2019 - Franklin, TS, United States - 1 min read
Do you have materials handling news? Submit your news here
Inside The News
This week Forkliftaction News is celebrating its 25th anniversary! A wonderful achievement given we launched at a time when just 6% of the world’s population were internet users, according to Internet World Stats . Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing stories about our history and rolling out more celebrations, so keep an eye out... Continue reading

PREMIUM business

Lift Technologies Inc.
Global leader - manufactures masts, carriages, sideshifters & fork positioners

Since July 2000, Forkliftaction News has been your guide to the developments that are shaping your industry.

Starting today we are also looking back on some of the key news stories from our extensive news archive.

In the news email and on the website, you'll see links to stories that were 'leading our news' multiple years ago, with topics spanning world-first products, big acquisitions, and major industry shifts.
We hope you enjoy this unique insight into the materials handling industry!

Words of support …

These releases in Forkliftaction are a nice experience for SNDC... We got seven inquiries coming from Canada, USA, Mexico, Israel and Australia (five from retailers, two from machines manufacturers) and we are still in contact with them. I can state that's a success story!

David Massat, Sales Director OEM and Export

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Since July 2000, Forkliftaction News has been your guide to the developments that are shaping your industry.

Starting today we are also looking back on some of the key news stories from our extensive news archive.

In the news email and on the website, you'll see links to stories that were 'leading our news' multiple years ago, with topics spanning world-first products, big acquisitions, and major industry shifts.
We hope you enjoy this unique insight into the materials handling industry!

PREMIUM business

ROYPOW
Manufacturer of lithium forklift battery solutions, the global leader in the market of lithium batteries replacing lead acid batteries.

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

It’s the year 2000. You’re in front of a boxy beige desktop waiting for the screeching ramblings of your dial-up to reach its finale. You go to Yahoo!, MSN, or maybe AOL, and start the mind-numbing process of finding your very specific needle in the digital haystack. And with web pages loading one image at a time, patience isn’t just a virtue – it’s a requirement!

As clumsy as this early iteration seems now, this technology was the great enabler that allowed Forkliftaction to connect to the industry across the globe.  

To everyone who has connected with Forkliftaction in the past 25 years, thank you for your contribution to our success! We feel deeply touched by your words of encouragement.

What has Forkliftaction meant to you? Drop us a line.