The Portuguese Air Force will use Second Life to train air controllers and create simulators for technical interventions on F-16 fighter engines.
The initiative results from a partnership with the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), which has been maintaining research projects for that virtual world for four years.
The collaboration with the Air Force began in March, and two projects are being prepared. One of the projects concerns training in air traffic control at aerodromes, for use by the Air Force Technical and Military Training Center, at Ota Air Base. The objective is to promote methodologies and tools for distance learning, says Lusa.
Another focus of research is related to the development of multi-user simulators for technical interventions with F-16 aircraft engines, to support continuous training at Monte Real Air Base No. 5.
This is just one of the research projects related to Second Life underway at UTAD, as the institution collaborates with more than 20 entities, national and international, in addition to the Portuguese Air Force, such as Portugal Telecom Inovação or the Federation Portuguese Handball.
With the Portuguese Handball Federation, UTAD is working on training handball coaches with automated avatar teams. The aim is to allow a trainer trainer to define plays and then, during a virtual class, request the handball avatar teams to reproduce them.
At the university, doctoral research work is still being completed to improve the teaching of computer programming using Second Life and to identify requirements and propose solutions that allow children and teachers of the 1st cycle of basic education to use virtual worlds to develop concepts of entrepreneurship.
