BISim™ releases powerful upgrades to VBS4 and Blue IG
More than 800 new capabilities are included in the latest releases of the training software.
The latest 24.1 upgrade for BISim’s leading products, VBS4 and Blue IG, is a significant update that introduces hundreds of extra capabilities designed to improve training outcomes for defense forces worldwide.
The updates bring numerous enhancements that address the evolving needs of defense training and simulation such as:
VBS Builder Edition makes it easier for developer partners, from small businesses to large systems integrators, to rapidly build simulation solutions on VBS and deploy them for immediate use. At $300 per seat per year, VBS Builder Edition reduces cost and technical barriers, enabling developers to delight their customers rapidly and iteratively.
BISim's Control AI becomes the default and only AI system in this VBS4 release. Customers can expect to see improvements to every aspect of AI behaviors in all domains, including more complex and reliable behaviors, while reducing administrator workloads. The update includes new waypoint types and associated behaviors, automatically converting old AI waypoints when loading existing battlespaces. See the technology brief from ITEC 2024 for more information about these improvements.
Munitions can be dropped from the drone or configured to detonate on impact when the drone hits an object. This new capability can be combined with a new First-Person View (FPV) drone with a new flight model to accurately represent the use of weaponized drones deployed in current conflicts.
The tool runs a set of automated stress tests on every component of your computer while also capturing data about your specific hardware configuration. The tool then produces a simple text file summarizing the results and indicating potential issues and detailed results that can be used for further analysis. Customers can use it to test hardware suitability or provide detailed information to BISim's support team.
In Geo, VBS4’s built-in terrain editing tool, customers can create bridges with customizable length, width, and shape and select from several procedural styles to create AI navigable crossings. Buildings can also be procedurally created and modified from simple outlines drawn directly on the terrain.
The download adds 8,951 procedurally created airfields using real-world data. Each airfield includes taxiways, tarmac, heliports with the correct line-markings, and common Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) approach lighting systems such as runway, taxiway, tarmac, and PAPI lights.
Added last year, the CPB allows customers to explore and modify any configuration parameters of any model within VBS4's huge content database to create custom variations of the default content shipped. In this release, users can now export all the configuration parameters from VBS4 in a single batch export into a CSV format where they can be modified externally. Once modified, the configurations can be re-imported into CPB to create a custom VBS4 configuration.
New particle effects were added, accurately representing the smoke emitted from a rocket or missile. This allows trainees to more accurately pick up the visual signature of a launch and track the munition's travel direction.
This release adds a simulation of BONUS, an artillery-launched, fire-and-forget munition in which the carrier shell separates to deploy two sensor-fuzed munitions that search for targets within a given footprint. The BONUS round can be accessed via the Fire Direction Centre (FDC) and other conventional munitions.
This release offers more than 30 new performance improvements in the core IG engine, including enhanced rendering and visual parity between VBS4 and Blue IG. These improvements enable seamless integration in simulators that use VBS4 as a simulation host and Blue IG as an image generator.
VBS continues to evolve to meet the demanding training needs of the US and its allies, and the new 24.1 features further expand the number of supported use cases. The latest AI and drone capabilities are critical to practice lessons learned in the Ukrainian conflict.
Globally, many hundreds of thousands of military personnel are trained every year using BISim’s high-fidelity VBS software products. More than 60 NATO and NATO-friendly countries, and over 300 integrators/prime contractors use VBS technology, many making significant funding commitments to extend VBS product capabilities. BISim’s customers include the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, Canadian Armed Forces, UK MoD, French Army, Bundeswehr, Swedish Armed Forces, Australian Defence Force, New Zealand Defence Force and many major system integrators.
All users will also have access to features previously included in the VBS4 Bundle, including Microsoft Bing mapping and the ability to share VBS Plan layers between users. The new releases are now available to download via the Customer Portal.
New users can get started with VBS by contacting the BISim team at sales@bisimulations.com