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Product
Updates
CMLabs Simulations, Inc., has released Vortex 3.0. This release greatly enhances both ease of use and time to market
for simulation projects. Included in Vortex 3.0 are an enhanced scenegraph
interface and a viewer utility based on OpenSceneGraph; as well as advanced motion blending and extended dynamics features;
all targeted at increasing productivity and accelerating simulator delivery
cycles. In addition, there is a Vortex for Vega Prime edition available from MultiGen Paradigm. The latest release gives applications developers more tools to
create demanding environments with a high degree of
physical realism.
CMLabs has also released a new product, VxVehicle, which offers easy-to-use encapsulation of wheeled and tracked vehicle components: chassis, wheels, or tracks, suspension and pwer train. The power train includes engine, transmission, torque converter and differential.
Announcements
- CMLabs continues to expand its global
presence by adding quality value added resellers. Beijing ESP has entered an agreement to
represent CMLabs in the growing Chinese market.
- CMLabs had a spectacular start to
2007 with the announcement of several innovative professional services contracts including sonar and robotics
project with DRDC and an underwater ROV project with a major engineering
technology and systems provider. More details will be made available in the next newsletter.
- Recently, CMLabs presented its
emerging commercial simulation technology to the heavy lifting industry. The
International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) hosted the event in California where the
Vortex Mobile Crane and Vortex Tower Crane operator training simulators was
demonstrated. These simulators were developed with the collaboration of the
OETIO, who have now verified their accuracy and effectiveness in training. For
more information please visit www.gilatraining.com
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Customer
Feature
The European
Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), is one of the largest
aerospace companies in the world. They were called upon by the
Belgian Army to develop a training simulator for an explosives
ordnance device (EOD) robot and chose Vortex as part of their
solution.
"The
product itself and the support from CMLabs have been outstanding. The
team is quick to respond and provides very helpful technical analysis
to our questions." - Oliver Albrecht, Lead Engineer, EADS
MT641
THE
NEED: EOD robots
are tele-operated robots that feature multi-jointed arms with hand-like manipulators.
They perform tasks such as finding, removing and disarming explosive devices.
They are expensive and can cost upwards of 200,000 euros per unit. The Belgian
Army has long been using EOD robots, and had a need for more and better
training. Mistakes are costly
both in dollars and in safety, however the robots are in constant use, limiting their availability for
training. EADS needed software that would accurately simulate the movement and
interactive behavior of the robot. It needed to be fast since the simulator
would be user-controlled.
THE
SOLUTION: A
high-fidelity simulator would serve to improve operator skill and confidence
levels and increase operational safety. Vortex is a
commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) tool that provides modeling capability for
physics-based vehicles, machines and robots. Equipped with libraries for
real-time dynamics, collision detection and force reaction, Vortex’s speed is
suited to an interactive training application. After some initial research it
was quickly decided that Vortex met and exceeded their requirements. An
in-house solution would have required EADS to perform extensive research and
development. With Vortex, they were able to quickly model the robot to move and
interact with its 3D environment. Vortex was easy to integrate into their
existing simulation framework, leaving them free to focus on other aspects of
the simulator design. They were able to recreate the entire range of movement
of the robot including climbing up or down stairs, accurately positioning the
arms joint-by-joint, and grasping explosives to move them to a safe location.
“The
best feature of the simulator is the realism. The simulated robot behaves as
you expect it to, and the operator can position the arms and manipulators just
like an actual one.” -
Oliver Albrecht, Lead Engineer, EADS MT64
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Introducing...
CMLabs has appointed Mike Reardon, Director of Sales & Marketing. Mike brings to CMLabs, over
twenty years of business building expertise in the hi-tech and telecom
industries. Prior to joining CMLabs, Mike led a management consulting practice
focused on business process improvements in customer support and channel
management. Mike has led the development
and growth of many new technology solutions with Cognicase through to Armstrong
Monitoring. With CMLabs, Mike’s priority
is to promote its value in supporting next generation simulator development and
growing CMLabs’ via strategic accounts and channel partners. His prior strategic account collaborations
included Gambro, Sprint Canada,
Colliers Int’l, Lexmark Canada
and DEC. Among his channel partnership collaborations are IBM Global Services
and Dover Corp. Email: miker@cm-labs.com
CMLabs
in Vehicle Dynamics
International
CMLabs’ Vortex technology for the automotive market
continues to gain ground. There is a great deal of potential in this market
beyond engineering development, including marketing and operations training
applications. PSA Peugot, Renault and Toyota all use Vortex for
various applications.
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