At Simlog, setup flexibility is all about choosing what best “fits” your operator training needs and budget.
Practically, this means that
- for Simlog hardware, we offer different kinds of simulator controls, at different prices
- for Simlog software, we offer two licensing “modes”, at different prices
After that, setup flexibility continues with “Commercial Off-The-Shelf” (COTS) hardware elements that we can buy for you, or that you can provide yourself
Setup flexibility for displays is especially important because
- multiple “big screen” displays make the simulation experience more “compelling”, by “filling up” your field of view
- multiple displays work much better than a VR Headset
- when displays are “big enough”, they can “create” a sense of movement (without the complexity, and cost, of a motion base)
- they are getting bigger and brighter and cheaper all the time!
And to accommodate that setup flexibility for displays, there’s a simple pull-down menu to “tell” the Simlog simulation software that you have
- 1 display in front
- 1 display in front and 1 display in back, for a total of 2 displays
- 3 displays in front
- 3 displays in front and 1 in back, for a total of 4 display
In this way too, it’s also easy to change your setup if you go offsite with just one display, to promote what you do at a local event,
Note too that the front display(s) can be in either the horizontal “landscape” mode or the vertical “portrait” mode, depending upon whether you want to “see” more side-to-side, or more up-and-down.
Of course, to minimize cost, you can always start with just one display and then add more later, perhaps as part of another budget cycle.
And if you’re planning to have simulation “stations” at multiple sites, each site can adopt the configuration that best fits the available size.
To make things clear, we now present six different examples of a single simulation station, and then a multi-station “lab”, to showcase Simlog’s unique setup flexibility, all for our Forklift Personal Simulator.
How small can you go? Here’s a single simulator station with tabletop Replica Controls and one small “front” display in landscape mode. (The display is 42″ in size.) The approximate footprint: about 4 ft. wide by 6 ft. deep [about 1.2 m wide by 1.8 m deep].
A little more space side-to-side, and especially front-to-back? Here’s the same simulator station as before, but now with three small “front” displays and one small “rear” display, all in landscape mode. (Each display is 32″ in size.) The approximate footprint: about 5 ft. wide by 8 ft. deep [about 1.5 m wide by 2.4 m deep].
A little more space (and a bigger budget)? Now there’s room for a Simlog Operator Chair, with one big “front” display and one big “rear” display, both in landscape mode. (Each display is 55″ in size.) The approximate footprint: about 5 ft. wide by 10 ft. deep [about 1.5 m wide by 3 m deep].
Even more space side-to-side? Here’s the same simulator station as before, but now with three big “front” displays in portrait mode, and one big “rear” display still in landscape mode. (Again each display is 55″ in size.) The approximate footprint: about 8 ft. wide by 10 ft. deep [about 2.4 m wide by 3 m deep].
A little more space (and a bigger budget)? Now there’s room for a “lab” with two simulator stations for training two people at a time, each with tabletop Replica Controls and one “front” display in landscape mode. (Each display is 42″ in size.) The approximate footprint: about 10 ft. wide by 5 ft. deep. [about 3 m wide by 1.5 m deep].
Lots more space (and an even bigger budget)? Now there’s room for a multi-station simulator lab with both tabletop Replica Controls and Simlog Operator Chairs. In this example, the simulator station at the left is equipped with tabletop Replica Controls, while the other three simulation stations all have Simlog Operator Chairs. (Each display is 55″ in size.)
Simlog’s Personal Simulators are recognized for offering the lowest cost-per-station on the market, especially when customers take advantage of common requirements for simulator controls. Since many of our Personal Simulators can use the very same ones, Simlog can offer you the unique cost-efficiency of multi-purpose (multi-software) simulator stations.
Multi-Purpose configurations are available in both tabletop mounting and operator chair options. Select the Personal Simulator software that fits your training requirements, along with the corresponding Multi-Purpose simulator controls that can be used for multiple Personal Simulators. Thanks to the convenience of USB connectivity, simply connect the specific elements needed for each Personal Simulator. Here are some examples. (No displays are presented here, because the number of possible displays varies with each product, from just one to four.)
With two multi-purpose joysticks, these Replica Controls are suitable for our Skid Steer Loader and Mobile Crane Personal Simulators. Add the toe-down/heel-down 2-pedal unit to work with our Hydraulic Excavator Personal Simulator, or the 2-pedal unit to work with our Bulldozer Personal Simulator.
This Operator Chair with two-multi-purpose joysticks can be used with the Skid Steer Loader and Mobile Crane Personal Simulators. Add the toe-down/heel-down 2-pedal unit to work with our Hydraulic Excavator Personal Simulator, or the 2-pedal unit to work with our Bulldozer Personal Simulator.
By adding the Logitech “G920 Driving Force Racing Wheel” consisting of a steering wheel and a three-pedal unit, and the Transmission Control Lever, you can create a comprehensive multi-purpose station suitable for our Backhoe Loader, Wheel Loader, Skid Steer Loader, Bulldozer, and Mobile Crane Personal Simulators. Add the 2-pedal unit to work with our Hydraulic Excavator Personal Simulator. The same setup is also suitable for our Forklift Personal Simulator (using joysticks), or you can add levers with additional brackets (not shown here).
This Operator Chair with industrial steering wheel and pedals, can be configured with two-multi-purpose joysticks to work with our Backhoe Loader, Wheel Loader, Skid Steer Loader, Bulldozer, and Mobile Crane Personal Simulators. Add the 2-pedal unit to work with our Hydraulic Excavator Personal Simulator. The same setup is also suitable for Forklift (using joysticks), or you can add levers and a special bracket for the right hand (not shown here).
Most Simlog customers are training many people at the same time and for that reason, they deploy “labs” with multiple simulator stations, thanks to Simlog’s unmatched cost-effectiveness.
The fact is, having multiple (Simlog) simulator stations, instead of just one high-priced turnkey system, changes training “dynamics” in two important ways.
- Many people are now training at the same time (instead of just one).
- Over the same amount of training time, each person now receives much more simulator-based help. Indeed, that’s why we call our products “Personal Simulators”.
Here we present some recent examples.
This simulator lab at Ocean County Vocational Technical School District (USA) consists of 17 multi-purpose simulator stations for Skid Steer Loader, Backhoe Loader, Hydraulic Excavator, Bulldozer, Wheel Loader and Forklift operator training. Two stations are equipped with Operator Chairs, while the other fifteen have tabletop Replica Controls. To learn more about the training program, watch this video.
This simulator lab at Calhoun Community College (USA) consists of 10 simulation stations: 4 have tabletop Replica Controls with single (front) displays, and 6 have Simlog Operator Chairs with multiple displays. Each station is dedicated to just one kind of simulated equipment: Forklift, Hydraulic Excavator, Skid Steer Loader, and Wheel Loader.
The simulator lab at Avon Park Correctional Institute, Florida Department of Corrections (USA), consists of 6 simulation stations, all with multiple displays: 2 have tabletop Replica Controls, and 4 have Simlog Operator Chairs. Each station is dedicated to Forklift or Reach Lift Truck.
The simulator lab at Dorchester County Career and Technology Center (USA) features 5 multi-purpose stations for Backhoe Loader, Hydraulic Excavator, Bulldozer and Wheel Loader. The 3 stations with tabletop Replica Controls have single displays, while the 2 stations with Simlog Operator Chairs have multiple displays.
The simulator lab at Durham College (Canada) consists of 5 multi-purpose stations with Simlog Operator Chairs and single displays, for Mobile Crane and Tower Crane. (Only four stations are visible in the photograph.)
The simulator lab at the Prologis Trade and Logistics Academy, Miami Springs Senior High School (USA), consists of 2 stations with tabletop Replica Controls and multiple displays, dedicated to Forklift.
The simulator lab at Anchorage School District (USA) consists of 6 multi-purpose stations with tabletop Replica Controls (and laptop PCs) for Forklift and Hydraulic Excavator.
The simulator lab at Anchor Bay High School (USA) consists of 3 dedicated stations with tabletop Replica Controls and multiple displays for Backhoe Loader, Hydraulic Excavator and Skid Steer Loader.
The simulator lab at Omaha Public Schools (USA) consists of 2 dedicated stations with tabletop Replica Controls for Forklift.
Most Simlog customers deploy their simulator stations in a permanent way, and so people come to the Personal Simulator to train. But some Simlog customers rely on our Custom Travel Cases to safely, and securely, move their Personal Simulators among multiple sites.
However, of our business partners and customers have instead created their own mobile training units using a trailer or sea container, in order to bring their Personal Simulators to wherever operator training is needed.
Mobile Training Units
This mobile training unit was prepared for the New Brunswick Road Builders’ Association and the Province of New Brunswick’s Ministry of Education, to introduce heavy equipment operations as part of a specialized co-op program for high school students. Insider the trailer are twelve multi-purpose stations with Simlog’s Backhoe Loader, Skid Steer Loader, and Wheel Loader Personal Simulators, with Replica Controls and one front display. Watch the video to learn more.
This mobile training unit was prepared by the B.O.B. Safety & Security for travel to multiple customer sites in Israel. Inside the trailer is Simlog’s Forklift Personal Simulator with Operator Chair and four displays, three in front in Portrait Mode, and one rear display (not shown).
This mobile training unit was prepared by the Alabama Industrial Development Training’s (AIDT) “Robotics Technology Park” program to introduce students to skilled trades in the state’s manufacturing sectors. Inside the trailer is Simlog’s Forklift Personal Simulator Operator Chair in a setup with front and rear displays connected to a laptop PC. Click here to watch the video about the mobile trailer.
This mobile training unit was prepared by the South Carolina Trucking Association’s workforce development program to introduce middle school and high school students to skilled trades. Inside the trailer is Simlog’s Forklift Personal Simulator with tabletop Replica Controls and a single 60” display connected to a laptop PC.
This mobile training unit was prepared by a Simlog business partner for deployment by their customer, a mining company, in Mozambique. There are a total of six custom “operator chair” setups in the sea container for Bulldozer, Hydraulic Excavator, Mobile Crane, Off-Highway Truck, and Wheel Loader Personal Simulators.
Bechtel Corporation, a leading engineering, construction, and project management company with headquarters in the United States, prepared five sea containers, to deploy simulator stations at their job sites around the world. Each container is equipped with two multi-purposed Simlog Operator Chairs, one with steering wheel and one without, for the following Personal Simulators: Mobile Crane, Tower Crane, Hydraulic Excavator, Bulldozer, Wheel Loader, Off-Highway Truck, and Forklift.
This mobile training unit was prepared by Local 115 of the International Union of Operating Engineers in Canada. Inside the trailer are three simulator stations, one for training Mobile Crane operators, and two for training Hydraulic Excavator operators.
Portable Simulator Stations
Assiniboine Community College in Canada uses 20 dedicated and multi-purpose portable simulation stations to support workforce training at municipalities and heavy equipment owner/operators in the Province of Manitoba.
The stations are all equipped with tabletop Replica Controls and feature the following Personal Simulators: Hydraulic Excavator, Bulldozer, Wheel Loader, Off-Highway Truck.
Although Simlog can provide an Operator Chair for each of our Personal Simulators, some of our business partners and customers have instead prepared their own custom setups, on occasion with parts from real heavy equipment such as operator seats and cabins. Here are some examples.
This custom setup for Forklift Personal Simulator was prepared by a Simlog business partner for their customer in Indonesia, a major automotive manufacturer. At the customer’s request, the displays are in the vertical “portrait” mode (instead of the more usual horizontal “landscape” mode).
These custom setups were prepared by a Simlog business partner for deployment by their customer, a mining company, in South Africa. There are a total of five simulator stations for Drill Jumbo, Off-Highway Truck, and Wheel Loader Personal Simulators.
This Operator Chair was prepared by Local 324 of the International Union of Operating Engineers (USA), featuring Replica Controls and simulation software for Simlog’s Hydraulic Excavator and Mobile Crane Personal Simulators.
Six operator chairs with fibreglass “cabins” at the Société Ivoirienne de Technologies” (Ivory Coast), featuring Replica and PC Controls and simulation software for Simlog’s Bulldozer, Forklift, Hydraulic Excavator, Mobile Crane, Off-Highway Truck, and Wheel Loader Personal Simulators. (Just three of the simulator stations are visible in the photograph.)
At Simlog, setup flexibility is all about choosing what best “fits” your operator training needs and budget.
Practically, this means that
- for Simlog hardware, we offer different kinds of simulator controls, at different prices
- for Simlog software, we offer two licensing “modes”, at different prices
After that, setup flexibility continues with “Commercial Off-The-Shelf” (COTS) hardware elements that we can buy for you, or that you can provide yourself
Setup flexibility for displays is especially important because
- multiple “big screen” displays make the simulation experience more “compelling”, by “filling up” your field of view
- multiple displays work much better than a VR Headset
- when displays are “big enough”, they can “create” a sense of movement (without the complexity, and cost, of a motion base)
- they are getting bigger and brighter and cheaper all the time!
And to accommodate that setup flexibility for displays, there’s a simple pull-down menu to “tell” the Simlog simulation software that you have
- 1 display in front
- 1 display in front and 1 display in back, for a total of 2 displays
- 3 displays in front
- 3 displays in front and 1 in back, for a total of 4 display
In this way too, it’s also easy to change your setup if you go offsite with just one display, to promote what you do at a local event,
Note too that the front display(s) can be in either the horizontal “landscape” mode or the vertical “portrait” mode, depending upon whether you want to “see” more side-to-side, or more up-and-down.
Of course, to minimize cost, you can always start with just one display and then add more later, perhaps as part of another budget cycle.
And if you’re planning to have simulation “stations” at multiple sites, each site can adopt the configuration that best fits the available size.
To make things clear, we now present six different examples of a single simulation station, and then a multi-station “lab”, to showcase Simlog’s unique setup flexibility, all for our Forklift Personal Simulator.
How small can you go? Here’s a single simulator station with tabletop Replica Controls and one small “front” display in landscape mode. (The display is 42″ in size.) The approximate footprint: about 4 ft. wide by 6 ft. deep [about 1.2 m wide by 1.8 m deep].
A little more space side-to-side, and especially front-to-back? Here’s the same simulator station as before, but now with three small “front” displays and one small “rear” display, all in landscape mode. (Each display is 32″ in size.) The approximate footprint: about 5 ft. wide by 8 ft. deep [about 1.5 m wide by 2.4 m deep].
A little more space (and a bigger budget)? Now there’s room for a Simlog Operator Chair, with one big “front” display and one big “rear” display, both in landscape mode. (Each display is 55″ in size.) The approximate footprint: about 5 ft. wide by 10 ft. deep [about 1.5 m wide by 3 m deep].
Even more space side-to-side? Here’s the same simulator station as before, but now with three big “front” displays in portrait mode, and one big “rear” display still in landscape mode. (Again each display is 55″ in size.) The approximate footprint: about 8 ft. wide by 10 ft. deep [about 2.4 m wide by 3 m deep].
A little more space (and a bigger budget)? Now there’s room for a “lab” with two simulator stations for training two people at a time, each with tabletop Replica Controls and one “front” display in landscape mode. (Each display is 42″ in size.) The approximate footprint: about 10 ft. wide by 5 ft. deep. [about 3 m wide by 1.5 m deep].
Lots more space (and an even bigger budget)? Now there’s room for a multi-station simulator lab with both tabletop Replica Controls and Simlog Operator Chairs. In this example, the simulator station at the left is equipped with tabletop Replica Controls, while the other three simulation stations all have Simlog Operator Chairs. (Each display is 55″ in size.)
