On November 9, our office became a lab. At Innovation Day, the whole Yoy Simulators team split into 8 teams to build and test new ideas: from calibration systems for heavy machinery controls to digital assistants that support learning and data visualization tools.
Trying out virtual reality during Yoy Simulators' Innovation Day.
What is Yoy's Innovation Day?
Innovation Day is an internal hackathon: we set the routine aside to build, in just a few hours, prototypes that respond to real challenges in industrial training. People from every area work together, try new tools and present what they achieved at the end of the day.
Ideas discussed out loud: that is how every project started.
After more than 11 years developing virtual reality simulators for mining, energy and logistics, we know the best solutions come from testing fast, failing fast and learning as a team. That is what this day is about.
8 teams, an office turned into a lab
Each team chose a challenge and set up in a different part of the office: work tables, rooms by the windows and the simulator area. Throughout the day there were brainstorms, prototypes on screen, tests with virtual reality headsets and plenty of conversations between areas that don't usually work together.
Teamwork in front of a simulator in development.
What we built in a day
Calibration for heavy machinery controls
One of the focuses was hardware. The teams worked on calibration systems for the joystick and lever consoles we use in our heavy machinery simulators, so that operating feels ever closer to being in a real cab.
Our simulation cab, one of the stars of the day.
Digital assistants to support learning
Other teams explored how artificial intelligence can support the people being trained and those who work with them: assistants that answer questions, guide processes and help turn a request into ready-to-use information.
Presenting a digital assistant built during the day.
Data visualization and virtual reality
There was also room for data and immersive experiences: dashboards to visualize trainees' performance and new virtual reality demos. In the final presentations, the screen showed live what the person wearing the headset was seeing, as in our fire extinguisher simulator.
Data to better understand how each person learns.
Live presentation: what the headset sees, projected for the whole team.
Why we invest in internal innovation
Behind every simulator there is a team that needs room to experiment. Innovation Day lets us test ideas without the pressure of an ongoing project, share knowledge across areas and discover solutions that can later reach our clients.
“It was a hugely rewarding day. We will definitely be building again, looking for ways to connect with this future and with the incredible tools that keep appearing.”
The Yoy Simulators team at the close of Innovation Day.
What's next
We came away with plenty of ideas to keep exploring and eager to do it again. We will keep innovating to make industrial training safer, more practical and more effective.
Want to see how virtual reality can transform your team's training? Explore our simulators and let's talk.
