Vanguard Magazine

HOW ONE COMPANY IS SOLVING THE PILOT SHORTAGE CAE CREATES AND DEPLOYS SOFTWARE-BASED SIMULATION TRAINING FOR CIVIL AND DE-FENCE AVIATION IN OVER 40 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. THE MODULES CAE PRODUC- ES MAKES TRAINING MORE EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE, AND ENGAGING, AND IT EMPOWERS PILOTS TO PERFORM WHEN THE STAKES ARE HIGHEST. P H I L I P P E P E R E Y IS HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY FOR CAE'S DEFENSE AND SECURITY GROUP. HE SAT DOWN WITH VANGUARD RADIO'S J. R I C H A R D J O N E S TO DISCUSS HOW MILITARY TRAINING NEEDS TO BE UPDATED, THE MAJOR CHALLENGES OF COMMITTING TO SUCH AN UPDATE AND WHY CAE'S NEWEST TECHNOLOGY — CA RISE — WILL BE A GAME-CHANGER FOR PILOT TRAINING MOVING FORWARD. www.vanguardcanada.com AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023 13 P E R S P E C T I V E Sponsored Content Philippe Perey Head of Technology for CAE's Defense and Security Group Q What are some of the indicators that military training technology needs to be updated? Technology is subservient to the problem we're trying to solve. So, I think we have to take a step back and ask, 'What are the problems we're trying to address?' Foun- dationally, the issue is delivering the quan- tity and quality of pilots needed to assure military sovereignty and support all the mission readiness that defense forces need. Connected to this issue is the idea that, you want to scale up, you also need more instructors. But because instructors are pi- lots themselves, you have to reduce your mission readiness by taking those instruc- tor-level off the front line to train more pilots. It's a circular problem without an easy solution path. And we must appreciate that the needs of the learner are very different today. They're not about passively absorbing what the instructor is teaching up on the stage. They want to interact and collabo- rate with peers in an experiential learning environment. So, it's about shifting to what we call a more student-centric learn- ing, where students take charge of their learning journey and can use their peers, the instructor, and the tools to progress faster. And of course, with the right data sets to track how students are performing, we can glean insights to how that student is progressing and hopefully identify specific areas of difficulty to meet with early re- medial action. So, adjusting and tailoring the training plan to an individual student ultimately helps them achieve more pro- ficiency by the time they graduate, and hopefully reduces the washout rate. Q What is driving the need for the updated training? You talk to the leadership and the US Air Force leadership — and similar leadership in other countries — and they'll say train- ing hasn't changed in over 60 years. So outdated training methodologies is a clear indicator that we need to adjust and em- brace new modes of learning. Fortunately, I think we have an opportunity here, with the advances of data analytics and immer- sive tools to help transform that. We couldn't do this years ago because a lot of that capability wasn't at our fin- gertips. Now, embrace virtual reality, ex- tended reality, or AI and data analytics to really get a better pulse of how those stu- dents are progressing. Q Do you think AI helps with the retention rates and absorption? Yes. And I think AI can be used in differ- ent facets. One is to act as a virtual coach to the student. Think of it as a virtual instructor coaching students through the maneu- vers. So as a student is flying a simulator, the system is guiding and coaching them through the maneuver. And based on how they perform, the AI can say, 'Hey, watch out for this, and that was well done." And the technology can adapt based on the stu- dent's prior trials. For example, the student continuously lands a bit too fast, the sim will remind them to check their airspeed. So, you're basically tailoring the coaching that goes on to help that student through to success, not only to a level of minimum skills proficiency, but hopefully to a level of maximum proficiency that can be attained on that particular training device. This decoupling between the instructor and student becomes a force multiplier for both: the student can fly a lot more and be coached a lot more, and the instructor can spend more focused time with the student, providing help where the student clearly needs it the most. And there's a backbone of data analytics that, over time, is building out a fingerprint of every student. Instructors have clear and early indications of where individual stu- dents' failure potentials lie so instructors can take early action. Tailoring that training to address areas of underachievement and skip over areas of overachievement makes the whole experience far more engaging.

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