Serious Labs is developing a virtual reality (VR) simulator to teach truck driving and expects it to be commercially-viable by 2024. The Commercial Vehicle (CV) VR Simulator is entering the pilot for user testing with the support and partnership of the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA).
The simulator provides driver assessment and training, skills assessment and onboarding for new hires, as well as annual refresher training for experienced drivers
The new Serious Labs simulator is also being designed for use by commercial driving schools. Serious Labs projects it will be able to replace a majority of the in-yard and in-cab training time for new drivers in Canada and the US.
Serious Labs is finalizing its alpha prototype and preparing for a customer pilot this summer.
"The North American truck driving industry is facing unprecedented challenges and needs as much support as it can get," said Jim Colvin, CEO, Serious Labs. "With the colossal uptick of e-commerce, the demand for truck drivers is greater than ever. The labor shortage is only growing, road safety remains an issue, and attention to carbon emissions is critical."
Compared to available truck simulators, Serious Labs’ simulator will be more realistic, affordable and comfortable for longer periods of use, the company said.
“The issues with current products on the market are twofold,” said Wade Carson, Serious Labs’ senior director of product portfolio. “First, they cause drivers to feel sick within minutes of exposure, which means extremely low time-on-task for drivers, eliminating skill acquisition during driver training. Second, they aren’t designed to deliver and measure the critical components of the entry-level driver training curriculum, so they’re not contextually relevant to tackle the driver shortage.”
Serious Labs aims to address those issues by mapping its new simulator to training requirements and implementing comprehensive measures to address “cybersickness,” the feeling of discomfort that often arises from current-generation simulators.
The new simulator will contain 100% of the curriculum for the in-yard and in-cab components of Canada’s Mandatory Entry-Level Training (MELT) content.
"Drivers could potentially complete the full in-yard and in-cab MELT curriculum content, which takes 74.5 hours using conventional methods, in 27 to 36 hours on the simulator. They could then gain additional practice in a commercial truck, or repeat certain simulator modules to make sure they’re highly proficient across the board,” said Carson.
The company also plans to align the simulator with the United States’ new Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) standard, which is based on demonstration of competency rather than a fixed number of in-cab hours.
“That’s an ideal use case because simulation actually builds competency faster than traditional training since the experience is more focused,” noted Carson.
With partial funding of $7.3 million by the governments of Canada and Alberta, Serious Labs is now seeking additional investment to bring the product to market.
The simulator is projected to offer reduced accidents and fatalities, address driver shortages through efficient and focused training, engage a new generation of drivers, lower operating costs for carriers and reduce climate impact by offsetting hundreds of trucks’ worth of greenhouse gasses.
To learn more, visit https://seriouslabs.com/commercial-vehicle-simulator/.
