In General XR News
March 28, 2024 – Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim), a global developer of military simulation and training software, has this week announced ‘VBS Builder Edition,’ a full-featured simulation solution development platform for the defense and military training industry.
According to BISim, VBS Builder Edition makes it easier for developers of complex military simulation to build and deploy their solutions faster and at lower costs to serve the critical needs of defense customers. With VBS Builder Edition, developers can quickly integrate custom hardware interfaces for VBS. The solution also has an API that allows developers to inject data from external devices, such as Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs), or use VBS simulation to drive external devices, such as motion platforms.
With today’s real-world training, wargaming, mission planning, and rehearsals for joint forces bearing a high risk in cost, environmental impact, and human safety, BISim is addressing a need for synthetic, immersive, and virtual training environments within fully simulated virtual worlds.
BISim noted that although technologies to build computer games have become more accessible, systems Integrators of the global defense industrial base may still find that building bespoke simulation solutions from scratch is hard and requires significant investment in development teams, years of time, and intangible costs.
To address this, VBS Builder Edition empowers simulation developers to rapidly author and deploy complex simulation solutions at lower costs. It is built around VBS, a turnkey simulation application from BISim, that enables customers to create any imaginable scenario for training, mission rehearsal, and planning in customizable environments anywhere in the world. VBS Builder Edition enables developers to create distributed simulations quickly and supports developing any simulated system within a high-fidelity virtual world, according to BISim.
“As the demand for immersive and game-based technologies in the military simulation domain increases, VBS Builder Edition gives our customers the ability and agility to create end-user simulation solutions at a relatively low cost,” said Rahul C. Thakkar, BISim’s President. “Using VBS Builder Edition, our partners are surprising us by integrating their solutions, such as high-fidelity vehicle and aircraft simulators, custom AI for training, and wargaming features with VBS. They are deploying solutions inside simulations containing hundreds of entities, controlled by humans and AI, for large-scale joint warfighter operations.”
Developers can subscribe to the VBS Builder Edition on a cost-per-seat basis, or subscribe as an enterprise. Features of VBS Builder Edition include over 19,000 3D models, including 8,000 moving models, whole Earth Terrain editors, a scripting environment, a comprehensive SDK, customizable AI with civilian and military behaviors, and scenario editors for scenarios containing more than 250 human participants.
According to BISim, its VBS platform is used to train hundreds of thousands of military personnel in more than 60 countries worldwide. For more information on BISim and its VBS Builder Edition simulation solution, please visit the company’s website.
Image credit: BISim
About the author
Sam Sprigg
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.
