UK SOFTWARE Supplier Division is launching a personal-computer (PC)-based, Windows NT-compatible version of its dVISE virtual-reality software, in response to customer demands to widen access to such tools. The dVISE was previously available on UNIX workstations only. Aerospatiale, British Aerospace, Gulfstream, Rolls-Royce, McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and NASA all use the software.
"People want to be able to use their virtual-reality tools across their organisations," says Pierre Dupont, director of marketing at Bristol-based Division. "For example, MDC wanted to validate how easy it is to remove an aircraft engine from under a wing. They designed bolts that can be taken apart in 10min."
The software makes use of computer-aided-design data to produce a real-time, three-dimensional representation of how a mechanical system is likely to function, before it is built. Division hopes that the PC version will allow a greater number of design, manufacturing, training and marketing staff to gain access to virtual-reality simulations.
Source: Flight International
