Antycip Simulation opens UK Regional Demo Centre

Following the recent launch of its first Regional Demo Centre in Saronno, Italy, Antycip Simulation has officially opened ‘The Hub,’ a new Regional Demo Centre at its Oxfordshire, UK office.

As a virtual reality and 3D immersive solutions integrator and a European leader in simulation software, Antycip Simulation’s new Regional Demo Centre will showcase Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) solutions for modelling, analysis, simulation and communications in both the civil and military sectors.

Developed in partnership with projector manufacturer Barco, The Hub is equipped with a power wall created from an Antycip Simulation 6m x 2m flat screen and two Barco F50 projectors which provide a seamless image even while up to eight applications are running at the same time.

It also features a single face VR CAVE using a 3-metre wide Barco rear-projected stereoscopic screen alongside a Barco F90 projector and Vicon tracking cameras. Typically used for virtual and augmented reality, the CAVE can be integrated with the HTC Vive virtual reality system to demonstrate collaborative working across multiple platforms and locations.

Elsewhere in The Hub, a spherical display with a 4m x 2m radius powered by two Barco F70 projectors provides a horizontal field of view of 180 degrees. The projectors have warping and blending capability to provide a curved image, giving users a highly realistic display for a range of simulation applications such as high-end flight simulators and individual ground forces simulators, as well as driving simulators.

The Hub is also equipped with a Vortex Advance rig, which provides real-time physics for those learning to operate and safely maintain military or civilian vehicles such as tanks and cranes.

Soon, Barco will demonstrate its new 3D sound processing solution at The Hub, which had a soft launch at ITEC 2017 but will gain momentum next year.

At the opening event, Antycip Simulation’s UK Regional Manager Chris Waldron explained The Hub had been created to allow customers to come and trial their existing applications on the latest virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality hardware.

The aim, said Waldron, is to de-risk any purchasing decisions and shorten the time-scales associated with any issues, since Antycip Simulation’s software engineers are in the same building and can begin trouble-shooting immediately.

Aside from interaction with existing and potential clients, Antycip Simulation’s UK Regional Demo Centre already has many education days lined up for the benefit of the broader modelling, simulation and VR community. These include a Systems Tool Kit (STK) Education Programme Day in March 2018, which will aim to create a forum on the topic for universities in the UK.

Barco has plans to run workshops to de-mystify visual simulation and provide them with new or recurrent training on colour calibration. Antycip Simulation is also encouraging companies to come and run their own training days at The Hub.

Michael Pronier, Antycip Simulation’s CEO, commented, “As an independent systems integrator, we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential in our strong partner relationships whilst keeping a resolute focus on providing solutions that are the very best fit for our customer’s project parameters and needs. The Hub will undoubtedly strengthen our capability to deliver on this promise.”

Antycip Simulation recently celebrated its 20th anniversary after being established in 1996. The company has worked with Barco since 2000.