SimCentric Technologies developed the SAF-TAC virtual reality training environment on Unreal Engine with £300,000 from the UK Defence and Security Accelerator's (DASA) Open Call for Innovation 2020. SAF-TAC combines commercial off-the-shelf VR headsets with motion tracking so trainees physically crouch, turn and move rather than using keyboard/mouse controls, targeting situational awareness, posture, positioning, movement and weapon handling. After trials with UK units (Parachute Regiment, 4 PWRR, RAF Regiment, Royal Marines), SimCentric partnered with Australian company Applied Virtual Simulation (AVS) — prime contractor on the program — to deliver SAF-TAC licenses to the Australian Army under its Land Simulation Core 2.0 (LS Core 2.0) Tranche 1 program, intended to unify Army legacy simulation environments. As of the January 2023 case study, SAF-TAC user evaluations were under way at 7 regional locations across Australia to determine where VR training should be applied Army-wide.
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“As a long term trusted supplier to the Australian Army, SimCentric is proud to deliver cutting edge technologies of relevance to the Australian Army that will tangibly enhance their individual and collective skills. By leveraging the extensive advantages of the Unreal Engine commercial gaming engine including supply chains and wider platform investment, the Australian Army can rapidly and sustainably modernise to deliver unprecedented capability efficiently to its soldiers in a way that bespoke military software simply cannot achieve.”
