The Woodlands, TX, Feb. 4, 2014 – It is common knowledge that careers in the energy industry are booming and one company in The Woodlands, Texas is using gaming technology to help new workers learn safety training and environmental awareness. The epic software group, a 23 year old multimedia development company has created a 3D virtual drill rig that allows those new to the industry to move around the rig site without leaving home.
Vic Cherubini, president of epic, leads a team of artists, animators and game developers who use software created for the entertainment industry to produce serious games. A recent study by Schlumberger Business Consulting, found that by 2014-2015 the flow of younger petro-technical professionals to the industry will be approximately 17,000, compared to the estimated 22,000 who will be leaving. “We need to attract more people to the energy industry to help fill this void. Epic chose to use gaming technology because young people have grown up on video games, and know intuitively how to navigate the rig,” said Cherubini.
epic’s first client was HARC (Houston Advanced Research Center), who hired the company to create a 3D rig to demonstrate environmentally friendly ways of drilling for oil and gas. Dr. Richard Haut, Director of HARC’s EFD Systems program said “The advances in technology such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have resulted in a meteoric rise in the number of drill rigs here in Texas and around the country. It is our responsibility to find ways to drill responsibly and share best practices with the industry. With a grant from the General Land Office we funded the 3D drill rig. This year the project was expanded and epic is now creating a 3D hydraulic fracturing site.”
The 3D drill rig can also be used for safety training, yet unlike traditional Computer Based Training (CBT), gaming technology immerses the student in a virtual rig environment. “We have a ‘learning mode’ where we guide the student around the rig, followed by a ‘training mode’ where the student is free to move around the rig to demonstrate that they understand a safety procedure,” said Cherubini. “Human error is the number one cause of safety incidents, and accidents can be reduced through repeated practice in a virtual simulator,” continued Cherubini.
The oil and gas industry has used traditional simulators for years. These require expensive hardware and dedicated training centers. epic’s goal is to bring this high level training to the desktop, laptop and tablet computers we all use. And the future looks very bright. epic is now exploring the use of 3D virtual reality goggles to add yet another level of realism to their serious games.
The epic software group will be demonstrating this technology at the Energy Network Expo on April 3rd at The Woodlands, Marriott. Anyone can access the 3D Virtual Rig free of charge directly from the EFD Systems web site via: https://efdvirtualsite.org/
About Epic Software
The epic software group is a multimedia production company located in The Woodlands, (Houston) Texas. Founded in 1990, the company operates from a state-of-the-art production facility filled with an incredible team of Artists, Animators and Programmers. epic has the experience, knowledge and creativity to tell your story or showcase your products and services using all of the latest interactive technologies.
