Redbird Previews Next-Generation Mixed-Reality Platform

At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024, Redbird Flight (Redbird) is demonstrating a new mixed-reality platform for its product line. The technology, which combines an affordable virtual reality headset with proprietary software, is the foundation for future mixed-reality add-ons to new and existing Redbird training devices.
Redbird has been iterating on mixed reality in research and development since the company first unveiled a proof of concept at AirVenture 2022. The next-generation platform builds on the immersive visual system of the initial demonstration version—which blends the physical and digital worlds to enable pilots to see both the graphics in the simulation and the real-world flight controls through the headset—while integrating the software stack into the company’s core simulation engine and reducing the hardware necessary to operate it. 

Unlike earlier demonstratable versions, the new platform runs on the core processing unit of Redbird training devices and exclusively utilizes high-resolution cameras in the headset for spatial mapping, allowing the company to reduce the cost of its mixed-reality solutions and simplify the end-user experience. 

“For several years, we have been working on developing mixed-reality solutions that are practical and affordable for a variety of use cases in aviation education and training without compromising on fidelity, and we think this new platform is a promising pathway toward accomplishing that goal,” said Redbird Chief Executive Officer Todd Willinger. “It is capable of being fully integrated into the Redbird Navigator operating system, allowing us to support it and our customers to install and use it free of the hassles of off-the-shelf virtual reality offerings.”

Redbird continues to develop the technology to suit the needs of various customers, ranging from K-12 and youth outreach programs to certificated pilots and flight training programs. The Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) in Lakeland, Florida, will be the first aviation education organization to implement the new mixed-reality platform into its operations. ACE plans to utilize the technology throughout its programs, from engaging and educating pre-kindergarten and elementary school students to helping flight students and lapsed pilots develop visual flying skills without incurring the cost of an aircraft rental for every training session. 

“Mixed-reality simulation is going to make flight training more accessible and immersive than anything we have seen in the last 50 years,” said ACE Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Crump. “The platform Redbird is developing offers tremendous flexibility on one device. It could become the Swiss Army Knife of aviation education.”

“ACE is the ideal launch customer for this platform,” added Willinger. “As an industry-leading education nonprofit, it will offer insights into myriad use cases that will be immensely valuable as we develop mixed-reality solutions at scale.” 

Redbird is demonstrating the new mixed-reality platform on its TD2 Basic Aviation Training Device in its booth at AirVenture. The company is planning the alpha release of a version of the platform compatible with its line of Advanced Aviation Training Devices.