Rotterdam, 5 June 2019 – As the world is rapidly changing with new technology advancements, companies must adapt to these changing forces, meet the needs of end users as well as respond well to market challenges. Recognizing the need for safety and security professionals to gain knowledge and skills through training procedures, VSTEP Simulation developed a new virtual training platform called Response Simulator (RS). In this edition of Behind the Simulator, we learn the insights of RS product development through the perspective of Erwin Wolf – team lead of RS development team.
Erwin has a background in industrial design engineering at TU Delft and has been working at VSTEP for over 16 years. He is currently leading the RS development team.
What tasks are you currently working on at the RS team?
“Next to team lead tasks, I am currently reviewing the new content and functionalities that will go into RS. Furthermore, based on my comprehensive experience with our former product RescueSim, I set up and create a diverse set of default training scenarios for Response Simulator. This enables a wider range of training options and possibilities that are tailored towards specific users’ need.”
What do you think makes RS systems unique?
“Our job as RS product developers is to combine ease of use with the ability to create complex training scenarios in the systems. During training, an instructor often must quickly respond to the commands issued by trainees. Thus, we work hard to reduce the workload of the instructors by enabling them to quickly learn and operate RS. However, there is a fine balance between automating the process to reduce the workload as opposed to having full control over training, which requires lots of attention of the instructor. Walking this fine line every day is what makes the RS systems unique.”
What makes you proud about working on RS?
“The thing I am most proud of about my job is being able to deliver a training system that helps customers solve an existing problem. The Response Simulator platform enables safety training to take place at any time and place. This reduces time, risks and cost often associated with traditional training methods. At the end of the day, if my work has made a difference, no matter big or small, it always gives a rewarding feeling.”
What are your thoughts on the future of RS Platform?
“By leveraging advanced technology, our team is on the high gear to accelerate Response Simulator to become the most advanced virtual safety training platform in the market and ensure the highest quality.
For the future, I see an increased focus on making the RS systems’ capabilities even more aligned with vastly changing user needs. For one, this means the ability for users to run RS remotely on a powerful (set of) PC and then stream the image back to the PCs in a chosen training facility. In that way, the end users can simply log in to their computers (e.g. any low-spec laptop) and run the training in their own time. This training method would not require installing or updating the software. There is already talk in the gaming industry of having this kind of a set up instead of a game console at home, so I believe that going toward that direction would also be a great opportunity for Response Simulator.
Secondly, it would be interesting to further expand RS as a kind of a recording studio which would allow taking screenshots and recordings of the training and use them in other applications. This output, for example, could be integrated in an e-learning software.
All in all, the main goal of my team is to create the best product that would help safety and security professionals train their skills and better prepare for dangerous and unpredictable situations they encounter daily.”
About
VSTEP makes sure that you are prepared for real-life situations with our leading solutions for simulation and virtual training. Our state-of-the-art products allow you to train your skills for every scenario possible in a practical, cost effective and sustainable way. We are a Dutch based and ISO9001:2015 certified company. Stay up-to-date about the developments at VSTEP by subscribing to our newsletter or follow us on Linkedin.