CraneMorley and Leading Performance Car Manufacturer Win Big

Top Visionary Award for HoloLens Training

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CraneMorley announced today that their groundbreaking mixed reality course, built for a leading performance car manufacturer, delivered on the Microsoft HoloLens, has won the coveted Visionary Award from SIA. According to SIA (Summit International Awards), "this is the top award for those in the forefront of the technological evolution, establishing tomorrow's avenues of digital communication."  

"Our client immediately grasped the potential for using the HoloLens to move technician

skills learning out of their busy training centers to the dealership, freeing up capacity," said Thomas Pratt, President of CraneMorley, "while also shortening time to competency by as much as 70%. This time-savings is a win-win for our client and its dealers, with the ultimate victor being the customer who relies on the exceptional quality of service."

Starting with CAD files, the CraneMorley team created a digital twin or hologram of the suspension system. This hologram, when overlayed on top of the vehicle, enables the technicians to "see" systems inside the vehicle through Microsoft's HoloLens, essentially giving them X-ray vision. Learners discover the location and operating relationship among suspension components and can withdraw them for closer inspection, using touch and voice navigation. In future development phases, this will include all systems: electrical, powertrain, etc. in all vehicle model types. 

Unlike VR (virtual reality), this MR (mixed reality) experience combines the best of the physical and virtual worlds, empowering the technician to work "head-up - hands-free," tools in hand. This results in actual skills transfer, unavailable from VR or the eLearning used by many companies to augment their instructor-led training.

Learners can work independently, without the need for an instructor, or in a blended experience, where the instructor's time is freed up to coach individuals or teach more students, expanding efficiency and effectiveness. "In our experience, engagement is total and time to competency improves from a day to less than an hour compared to traditional training," commented Pratt. 

Leaning into the travel and face-to-face restrictions from COVID, CraneMorley recently left its traditional office space in favor of a new virtual digital studio in Irvine, CA. As a gold mixed reality partner with Microsoft, CraneMorley's new normal includes empowering clients with virtual connections between their team, CraneMorley, and the Microsoft team worldwide. "Our vision for the much-hyped metaverse is not limited to avatars and is already in play, driven by immediate pandemic-related need and met with Microsoft technology," added Pratt.   

"We learn from the brilliant team at Microsoft as they deliver new features monthly and we put them to work building the future together with our clients," commented Pratt. "This will continue to accelerate innovation long after the pandemic is just a bad memory." 

About CraneMorley Inc. 

CraneMorley celebrates its 29th year serving enterprise with the latest innovation in learning and on-the-job performance improvement solutions. Our team has received more than 100 awards and works as a gold partner with Microsoft's mixed reality team. www.cranemorley.com.

About Summit International Awards 

Over the past 27 years, the SIA has established itself as one of the premier arbiters of communication excellence, including learning technology.  Awards are given at the Leader, Innovator, and the highest level: visionary. Over 1000 international entries were received in 2021 from more than 50 countries across five continents, with 7% earning an award. www.summitawards.com.