Scenic landscapes, immaculately kept houses that look straight out of a showcase website and a team of enthusiasts who warmly welcomed me into their immersive world. I am sure it doesn’t get much better than this. 

Mersus Technologies offers a glimpse into the future of manufacturing, but only if you dare to keep an open mind.  All it takes is a VR headset and the guidance of an expert team, whether you’re picking up freshly moulded parts or reaching for the emergency stop button. By the end, you’ll want more than just to operate an injection moulding machine; you’ll want to be part of the action. 

[GD] Please talk me through how Mersus Technologies came about and what drove the need for the technology.

[GA] My co-founder, Dermot Condron, and I founded the company. When we left college in 2012, there wasn’t much work, so we decided to set up a company as a one-stop shop for mobile devices, video, animation, websites and related services. The animation and video side of the business gradually grew. Around 2015, Dermot suggested that we could use computer gaming technology to create animations in a virtual environment.

As we’ve developed the technology and carried out projects, we’ve seen the return on investment and the benefits it can deliver across manufacturing. There are also significant resource savings. By moving activities into a virtual environment, you no longer need the physical materials required for conventional training. For example, we’ve developed fire-safety applications that have been used in UK offices to help people practise using extinguishers virtually rather than discharging them inside an office environment. 

[GD] What have you learned from delivering these projects?

[GA] We’ve seen significant results, including reductions in training time of up to 80%. Another major benefit is confidence. When someone is standing in front of a multi-million-pound piece of machinery, there can be anxiety. By moving the learning process into a virtual environment, you can remove much of that anxiety. People can understand cause and effect, gain confidence and learn a machine’s different functions. When they eventually get in front of the physical machine, they already understand how it works.

One of the challenges comes after the software has been delivered. The rollout can be difficult because there’s considerable pressure on the internal people responsible for championing an innovative project. Companies need to recognise that some resources and budget are required to support the rollout after delivery. That’s often where projects can fall: the technology gets put on a shelf rather than being fully integrated into the organisation. For a project to be successful, you need three things: the customer’s domain expertise, the technology that we bring to the table and the funding to deliver it.

[GD] How can VR training help address the skills shortage in manufacturing?

[GA] The technology is driving the speed and velocity of manufacturing output higher and higher. Humans are having to keep up with that pace, and the traditional methods of training simply aren’t adequate anymore. Productivity is rising because of advances in artificial intelligence, automation and other technologies. Traditional training channels, apprenticeships and established methods can’t necessarily develop skills quickly enough to match that rate of change.

Moving training into a virtual environment makes sense for several reasons. It enables self-paced learning while being a medium that the next generation is already comfortable with. You’re no longer restricted to a training room either. The mobility of the technology is a major advantage, and it can be much more engaging than simply watching a video. Simulation isn’t new – aviation has been using it for decades – but VR is now becoming much more affordable and scalable. You can introduce multi-user experiences and multilingual capabilities, for example. The applications are potentially boundless.

[GD Is cost still a barrier to adoption?

[GA] The upfront cost of developing bespoke experiences can certainly be significant, which is why we’re increasingly trying to productise our experiences. We’ve done that successfully with our polymer training. When we started, we had eight modules; that’s now grown to 13 and is heading towards 23. Anyone signing up can access a growing library of courses covering materials, machine set-ups, issues such as shorts and flashing, and how to address them.

The idea is to continue growing that library and make the technology increasingly affordable and accessible. Large multinational companies can often afford to develop their own solutions. We’re particularly interested in smaller operations that can’t afford to send key operators away for weeks of training with a third-party provider. 

[GD] What makes you most proud of the company?

[GA] I am proud that everything is done in our own facility. We’ve developed a graduate programme through which we find our future talent. We also won a national talent development programme award from Technology Ireland, competing against multinationals, which was a phenomenal achievement for a small company. We’re proud of the quality of the software we deliver. Graphics are extremely important to us, and we continually aim to deliver a high technical standard.

There’s a perception that immersive technology has to come from Silicon Valley or Shenzhen. We’re proving that it can be developed by a small studio in rural Ireland, and we’ve already achieved international recognition for it. Our goal is to keep going in the direction we’ve set. We don’t want to be distracted by every new trend. We’re using AI extensively across our workflow, but trends come and go. We’ve been consistent and persistent, and we want to stick to the plan. Ultimately, we want our current platform and our Creator platform to be used widely in the marketplace.

[GD] What would you say to manufacturers considering immersive technology?

[GA] Don’t be shy about it. For a relatively low outlay, organisations can get up and running and experience the technology for themselves. Manufacturers have embraced digital transformation. We believe virtual transformation should complement that. The technology is here; it’s becoming increasingly accessible, and the industry should embrace the future.