A Russian University Is Opening VR Laboratories to Train Aircraft Designers
Multi‑user VR simulators help future aircraft designers undergo hands‑on industrial training.
At Kazan KNITU‑KAI, virtual laboratories are being created that allow students to master complex technological operations without the risk of damaging real equipment. This simplifies practical training, makes it safer, and helps students build professional skills more quickly.
Virtual Workshop
In the two new VR laboratories, students learn the basics of assembling aircraft skin components and working with an injection machine for composite impregnation. The virtual environment accurately reproduces factory‑floor conditions: workbenches, tools, procedures, and technological operations. The system records each action, highlights mistakes, and helps correct the sequence of operations. Students can see what properly completed work looks like and repeat the process as many times as needed to confidently consolidate their skills.
Developers paid special attention to object interaction. Tools must be picked up with hand controllers, holes must be drilled along an exact trajectory, and flexible hoses must be connected with realistic physics. The second laboratory assignment also simulates working with liquid binders: students see the process of impregnating parts inside a virtual thermo‑press.
Multi‑User Mode
The main innovation is the multi‑user mode. An instructor can work in the shared virtual workshop, demonstrate techniques, and students can observe and complete tasks individually. This makes the learning process closer to real industrial practice. A third laboratory is already being prepared—this time in augmented‑reality format, where hints are displayed directly on real objects.
New technologies help future engineers quickly and safely master their important and essential profession.
