Application Technology

Cable management specialist HellermannTyton UK has opened a virtual reality (VR) experience at its site in Cannock, UK, with the investment forming part of the HellermannTyton ACADEMY.

The HellermannTyton ACADEMY is a centre that allows visitors and customers to gain hands-on experience with the business’ vast range of cable management solutions.

The VR software enables users to delve into five different virtual worlds and experience how cable management solutions are used in real life scenarios. The first scenario enables users to travel through the tower and nacelle of a wind turbine and view HellermannTyton’s products in-situ within it. The products can also be ‘picked up’ from their positions for closer inspection and then placed back.

Those working in the transport industries can also benefit from the VR experience. Separate rail and automotive software applications allow users to get underneath the carriages of a train or beneath a car. They can then visualise the type of cable management solutions used within the vehicles, without the danger or dirt that may be involved outside of the virtual world.

Other applications include data cable management, and a replica of the HellermannTyton ACADEMY in Germany – where giant versions of products such as cable tie guns can be taken apart to view their intricacy and technical make-up.

John Banks, head of product management at HellermannTyton UK, said: “The new virtual reality station within our ACADEMY is a great way for our visitors and customers to view how our cable management solutions are used across a wide range of industries and applications, without having to leave the room. For our initial visitors, it has been their first time using a VR headset and feedback has been excellent.”