5/11/2008

This time of the year is the height of the training season for newly hired employees in Japan, so here’s Fujitsu’s new train simulator for some true TRAiNG®.*

Fujitsu train simulator gets real
Kyodo News via The Japan Times | Saturday, May 10, 2008
Fujitsu Ltd. said Thursday it has launched a train simulator that uses high-definition video to improve the driving skills of engineers. The new system, developed in collaboration with Japanese video game and simulator developer Ongakukan Co., provides unprecedented realism and accurate responses to trainee input…more...

According to Ongakukan, who developed the popular Train Simalor for the Playstation, this system uses videos of actual railways, and can play the footage back at 60 fps, regardless of the running speed of the simulated training, in full high-definition.

The training system responds accurately to operator’s reaction, including speed notches and braking operations using recorded train positioning and rail grade information. This recorded information helps model all the forces that affect a train’s operation, including grade, curves, mechanical resistance from the rails, and even aerodynamic resistance for Shinakansen bullet trains, resulting in a highly realistic training environment. The views from the simulator’s train cab shown on the right and below are far more realistic than existing simulators based only computer graphics.

*TRAiNG® (sic) is as an advertising campaign of JR, Japan Railways, as you can watch in this 30-second commercial.