Press Releases

The DiSTI Corporation, the global leader in virtual maintenance training, has been awarded a contract supporting the upgrade to the United States Navy F-18 Simulated Aircraft Maintenance Trainer (SAMT) program by J.F. Taylor.

The improvements to the trainer will consist of upgrading the SAMT to include obsolete computer system hardware and the computer operating system (OS) in four identical SAMTs at NAS Oceana, Virginia.

“Modifying the SAMT to meet current Fleet configuration will greatly improve warfighter readiness,” said Tom Neary, DiSTI’s Director of Programs. “This program provides sailors with a realistic, full-spectrum maintenance trainer for electrical/flight control, avionics, armament, and fuel-related task areas.”

The SAMT device 11H171 is used to provide the capability to simulate through visual representation all external cockpit system functionality related to maintenance, operation, servicing, troubleshooting, and repair of the FA-18C aircraft configuration and associated engineering changes. This program includes the means for demonstration and instruction through either instructor-led or trainee self-paced interaction with simulation software and cockpit hardware.

“J.F. Taylor is excited to have DiSTI as part of the SAMT Obsolescence and Operating System upgrade program,” stated J.F. Taylor program manager Dave Hesse. “Their experience and knowledge with the SAMT systems and virtual trainers, in general, is second to none. J.F. Taylor is glad to have DiSTI as our partner in this important Fleet program.”

For individuals seeking to learn more about Virtual Maintenance Training and the solutions provided by DiSTI, please reach out to sales@disti.com

The DiSTI Corporation, a leading provider of HMI software and virtual training development solutions, announced the availability of VE Studio 2022.3, the company’s industry-leading solution for virtual maintenance training development. VE 2022.3 features improved Virtual Reality (VR) stability, an enhanced VR User Experience (UX), and compatibility with Unity 2021 LTS.

With improvements to the user experience throughout both wired VR and wireless VR build targets, DiSTI leverages the latest technology to empower user productivity for virtual training solution development. With DiSTI’s use of Unity’s OpenXR library for handling headset and controller mappings, developers can seamlessly target a wide range of AR/VR devices. This feature makes switching headset hardware easier, and switching between wired and wireless VR is a smoother experience.

“The team behind VE Studio 2022.3 keeps the customer’s needs in focus. Engineers developed these new features with the best user experience possible in mind,“ said Doug Classe, Program Manager for VE Studio. “Developers can further harness more power of Unity’s game engine capability, leading to greater potential for student learning outcomes.”

This latest update to VE Studio allows developers to use newer features of Unity, allowing for additional and more recent Unity assets in projects. VE Studio 2022.3 is now using a Physically-Based Rendering (PBR) PBR-compliant material library to upgrade the realism of 3D models.VE Studio 2022.3 now offers:

• Updated Unity to Unity 2021 LTS
• Replacement of deprecated UNet library with Mirror
• Several VR UX Improvements
• Updates to the VE Studio project and VE Studio lesson samples
• Oculus VR headset testing
• Refined lighting optimizations
• Addition of PBR Materials library

Over 90 days, the DiSTI VE Studio engineering team has brought VE Studio 2022.3 to market, including a new 2D menu system for VR builds. The endeavor continues this software company’s commitment to providing a superior software development platform.

Existing VE Studio customers who would like to inquire about updating their current version of VE Studio should contact support@disti.com. For individuals seeking to learn more about VE Studio and the solutions provided by DiSTI, please reach out to sales@disti.com

Virtual reality training in the realm of automotive is producing real value for manufacturers across the globe. The DiSTI Corporation provides 3D virtual training solutions and develops Virtual Maintenance Training (VMT) for Volvo Cars.

The array of service options now available for combustion and electric vehicles is staggering. Many manufacturers are facing the challenge of keeping their technicians proficient in the latest automotive technology.

Without the need for a physical model, virtual reality is an ongoing training tool that provides opportunities to learn new skills and improve the maintenance and diagnostic process. DiSTI’s VE Studio, a virtual training development platform, builds immersive virtual training programs designed to educate and assess technicians on:

• Vehicle troubleshooting
• EVT (Electric Vehicle Technician) and A-EVT (Advanced-Electric Vehicle Technician) Disassemble & Assembly the high voltage battery
• De-energizing & Energizing the high-voltage battery
• Battery inspection
• IVI Connectivity setup & troubleshooting

The DiSTI Corporation’s VE Studio® enables complex and immersive training applications. The software features allow to rapidly prototype and scale training across an enterprise quickly and cost-effectively.

DiSTI’s 25-year legacy of training solutions now also leverages a complete virtual classroom management system allowing instructors to train students in remote environments. Using DiSTI’s Schoolhouse, a managed virtual training solution, technicians, dealer technicians, and other partners anywhere in the world will now be able to benefit from this cutting-edge training methodology and receive certifications.
Previous studies have shown that training through DiSTI Schoolhouse™ reduced a traditional 3-day instructor-led technical certification course to 9 hours, improving student engagement and knowledge retention rates.

“DiSTI has a proven legacy developing virtual training solutions, especially in the aerospace market. Automotive vehicles have undoubtedly become just as sophisticated as some of the airplanes we’ve built virtual training solutions for,” stated DiSTI CEO John Hayward. “DiSTI is committed to honoring Volvo Cars’ legacy by delivering a premium training experience through intuitive technology for a safer and better experience.”

To learn more about The DiSTI Corporation’s virtual training development and solutions, please get in touch with sales@disti.com

The DiSTI Corporation has just formed a strategic alliance with commercial pilot training pioneers Visionary Training Resources to deliver integrated, end-to-end virtual reality pilot training solutions to their joint enterprise and government customers. The DiSTI Corporation is globally recognized as a world leader in virtual training development solutions, with more than 1000 projects successfully delivered worldwide.

The alliance combines DiSTI’s award-winning virtual training development solutions and Visionary Training Resources’ platform capabilities. Working in conjunction, these two companies will deliver technologically advanced solutions designed to help customers simplify complex pilot training procedures. While increasing student throughput and learning outcomes.

The solution will improve student throughput and learning outcomes while reducing training costs. This approach allows customers to realize the full value of their pilot training initiatives.

“DiSTI’s collaboration on FlightDeckToGo has allowed VTR to develop a best-in-class product,” said VTR COO Jeff Pierce. “Today’s agreement strengthens our commitment to making virtual reality an essential piece of commercial pilot training.”

This strategic alliance agreement follows several successful endeavors between DiSTI and VTR for the innovative FlightDeckToGo solution that allows pilots to train using virtual reality technology from anywhere. The VR-focused solution creates a detailed digital twin of each aircraft’s flight deck. This method enables pilots to interact with switches, dials, and levers to build muscle memory before entering more costly simulator training. Additionally, the solution is entirely portable, deploying on mobile VR headsets like the Pico NEO Pro Eye.

In addition to tracking all virtual interactions, this solution utilizes the eye-tracking technology provided by the VR headset to track visual inspection tasks performed by the student automatically. Students can integrate into any learning management system (LMS) via DiSTI’s Schoolhouse software and train from anywhere. Collection of their recorded results and tracked achievements are saved for future review at their respective training entities.

“Effective digital training demands highly coordinated, strategic, and experienced solutions to realize success,” stated John Hayward, CEO of DiSTI. “Together, DiSTI and VTR will assist clients in achieving their goals of virtual pilot training while building transformational solutions that utilize the most advanced technology possible.”

DiSTI and VTR alliance aim to reduce airlines’ unpredictable availability and costs surrounding training by providing highly standardized pilot training and better preparing pilots for simulator training.

To learn more about The DiSTI Corporation’s virtual training development and solutions, please get in touch with sales@disti.com

The DiSTI Corporation, the global leader in virtual training development, announces the launch of a software update to their flagship development platform, VE Studio. The VE Studio 2022.2 release provides a Universal Render Pipeline update and a new Fidelity Matrix (FM) User Interface Tool. These are in addition to a Message Manager, Training Assistant, and Simulation Engine runtime components integrated into Mobile VR build targets, along with an array of user-requested updates and features.

“VE Studio 2022.2 reflects our continuing innovative efforts to better serve the fast-changing needs of our customers in relation to advancements in technology,” stated VE Studio Program Manager Doug Classe. “Migrating all our runtime components to support Windows Desktop, Wired VR, and Mobile VR was an extensive update. Although the work was significant, our product team has done an outstanding job with this release.”

This latest update to VE Studio has emphasized virtual reality (VR) technology advancements. Both wired and mobile virtual reality now work similarly using the identical prefabricated builds (i.e., prefabs) in VE Studio.

Lessons now only require a single development in VE Studio for deployment to desktop, wired, or wireless virtual reality hardware. This feature gives users the ability to execute desktop lessons on VR hardware. Fully supported in this 2022.2 release are VR hands and laser interactions.

The improvements made to the Fidelity Matrix (FM) user interface tool provide users with a more polished performance. Creating large FM databases, displaying relevant data, and having quick access to upgraded search features is now a more robust endeavor. Customization is the bedrock of VE Studio, and users can now select between light and dark themes, facilitating a better development experience.

The VE Studio 2022.2 update also includes bug fixes to address issues reported by customers. These include:

• • VEMultiState timing values breaking
  • DRDs created from the FM Editor are not properly being generated

As the global leader in virtual training solutions, DiSTI is proud to work hard and continue our commitment to providing a superior software development platform with VE Studio 2022.2

Existing VE Studio customers who would like to inquire about updating their current version of VE Studio, should contact support@disti.com. For individuals seeking to learn more about VE Studio and the solutions provided by DiSTI, please reach out to sales@disti.com

Today, the DiSTI Corporation announced an update to its HMI development tool, GL Studio®. This latest update, GL Studio 8.1, adds ancillary product support (GlsRSOLoader and GlsMapToolkt) for macOS, Best Practice Workflows documentation, an Interface Control Document (ICD) Generator Package, along with support for Visual Studio 2022 and Windows 11.

“More organizations than ever have begun adopting GL Studio. With GL Studio 8.1, we make it easier than ever to learn how to use our HMI software tool by providing the most comprehensive introduction to the key aspects of GL Studio development”, explained DiSTI CEO John Hayward.

With the introduction of macOS support in GL Studio 8.0, this iteration takes it even further with the ancillary GlsRSOLoader and GlsMapToolkit macOS support. Additionally, GL Studio editor is now a universal binary on macOS, further improving the feasibility of developers looking to use GL Studio on macOS.

“The GL Studio 8.1 new features allow seamless integration to macOS platforms with universal binaries and ancillary products, and enables easier onboarding with best practices in an updated customer document site,” stated GL Studio Engineering Manager Linda Flannery. “We remain committed to delivering the exceptional support that our customers have come to expect of GL Studio. The team invested countless hours to ensure that this update reflects customer feedback and requests.”

Aerospace and Automotive industry customers of GL Studio will find the new ICD Generator Package revamps GL Studio’s ICD generation functionality. The new clean and simple graphical user interface (GUI) makes it easier to generate an ICD for a GL Studio design. Users can now easily filter data by type or content by using Wildcard Data Filters. In addition, the output format for a generated ICD is now customizable.

Many improvements to the HMI software tool are included in GL Studio 8.1. Some of these improvements to existing features are:

• Linux texture modulation improvements.
• Objects now copy and paste in the draw order rather than the selected order.
• Deployments will now return an error code if the application crashes.
• GL Studio now supports Windows 11.
• GL Studio now supports Visual Studio 2022.
• Several quality-of-life enhancements, such as the new Isolate Object feature.

Customers under current maintenance and support contracts for GL Studio can log into DiSTI’s customer support portal to download the latest version. For more information on GL Studio, contact us at sales@disti.com.

Visit our GL Studio page to learn more about our safety-critical expertise and the cutting-edge HMI software developed by The DiSTI Corporation.