Rajnath Singh, BS Yediyurappa get into simulation mode for a Siachen rescue mission

Near-reality

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in the simulator

For Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, the totally desi “India Pavilion” at the Aero India 2021 had an Atmanirbar-simulation touch. Just after launching the Pavilion on Wednesday, the duo were right inside a helicopter simulator set up by indigenous startup Parallax.

Helmets on, Singh and Yediyurappa were ready as Virtual Reality (VR) took control. In microseconds, they were both atop the Siachen Glacier as helicopter pilots on an airlift mission: To evacuate jawans to the base camp in double quick time. The VR made it all too real.

Impressed with the realism, Singh said it had a lot of potential. He then turned to Yediyurappa and asked him to try it out too. Then came a line of pilots, both IAF and international, exploring its potential for military training, and aircraft maintenance training needs.

This was arguably India’s first indigenous VR aircraft simulator. “Our USP is replication of emergency scenarios. The simulator here was specially made for Aero India. But once in production, this will be 90% cheaper than imported ones,” Parallax director Krupalu H Mehta told DH.

A reality simulator check by DH felt real and edgy, the VR set mimicking the glacier scene in hyper graphic detail. But the feel-real scenes had more in store: A Chinook helicopter landing and taking off from the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

The buzz around the simulator had many hooked. Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy personnel came calling. So did aviation major, Boeing. “A top Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) official even offered that the company could work with us,” Mehta informed.

At Aero India 2019, Parallax Labs had already shown signs of its prowess, being adjudged as one of the pioneers in defence technologies under the Defence Ministry’s Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative.

The simulator had a helicopter fixation for a reason: The Indian Pavilion had Rotary Wing as its theme for this airshow. Spread out were a range of indigenous products and accessories, catering both to Indian and global aerospace firms.

From rotary wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to technology demonstrations, the Pavilion packed a desi punch.