KVH Videotel to Provide Virtual Reality Training by OMS-VR

Recognizing the appeal of virtual reality (VR) for engaging seafarers who need training as they enter and advance through the maritime industry, KVH Videotel and OMS-VR today announced a letter of intent to enter into an exclusive agreement to produce and distribute VR maritime training. Coinciding with the announcement, KVH Videotel will be providing a demo of VR training during the CrewConnect Global Conference in Manila tomorrow and Wednesday, November 6-7.

“Virtual Reality affords trainers and educators a powerful new toolset with which to improve learner engagement and retention,” says Raal Harris, creative content director for KVH Videotel. “It’s proven that we learn best by doing, and VR provides a safe sandbox in which we can learn experientially, without the associated dangers and consequences of real life.”
 
KVH Videotel’s maritime training programs are acclaimed in the industry for award-winning content, with more than 950 titles related to the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) and other topics, in use on more than 12,000 vessels worldwide. OMS is at the forefront of producing VR maritime training, having already built out a comprehensive suite of immersive learning scenarios.

Under the proposed arrangement, KVH Videotel will represent OMS-VR’s existing portfolio in the maritime market. In addition, the two companies will develop an exclusive series of new VR training segments over the next two years, making up a portfolio of more than 40 training courses. The topics of the existing and future VR modules include essential STCW-related critical safety material, cargo and engineering tasks, and industry best-practice exercises.
 
“We are delighted to be working with OMS-VR and look forward to accelerating our ability to integrate truly immersive VR into KVH Videotel’s training offering,” says Mark Woodhead, senior vice president for EMEA. KVH Videotel is known for taking an innovative approach to maritime training having last year introduced a maritime training solution called Videotel Performance Manager, which combines award-winning content, a cutting-edge software platform, and the power of web-based data analytics to help maritime operators ensure that crew are training and performing at their peak.
 
KVH is a mobile tech innovator that provides connectivity solutions for commercial maritime, leisure marine, and land mobile applications on vessels and vehicles, including the award-winning TracPhone® and TracVision® product lines, the global mini-VSAT Broadband network, and AgilePlans™ Connectivity as a Service (CaaS). The company’s Videotel business is a market-leading provider of training films, computer-based training, and eLearning for the maritime industry, and its KVH Media Group provides news, sports, and entertainment content with such brands as NEWSlink™ and SPORTSlink™. The letter of intent announced today is subject to the parties reaching a definitive agreement.