Forth Valley College: 

Multi-Vehicle Driving Simulation Suite

AV INSTALLED

Absen LED video wall

Peerless-AV mount

NovaStar processor

Extron control & speakers

TOP-TEC lectern

SMART Mini 727

Blaze by Sonance Amplifier

Gude PDU

​​​​​​​Audio visual case study​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Forth Valley College has opened a new Multi-Vehicle Driving Simulation Suite at its Falkirk Campus, providing students with access to 14 different vehicle simulations covering machinery used across construction, agriculture and forestry sectors to develop their practical skills in a safe, controlled environment before progressing to real-world machinery.

Funded through the Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal, the new suite is part of the College’s £4 million Skills Transition Centre, established to support workforce development across central Scotland.

Working alongside simulation specialists Tenstar, GVAV were appointed to design and install an integrated audiovisual system for the new suite, incorporating a large LED display wall and centralised control to support the new facility.

The suite’s Tenstar simulators and VR headsets replicate real-world vehicle operation through authentic controls and realistic machine movements, allowing learners to practise operating equipment such as excavators, wheel loaders, articulated haulers and bulldozers without the risks associated with using live machinery.

driving simulation room

With multiple simulators operating either independently or collaboratively within the same shared virtual space, the room required an audiovisual system that would allow this activity to be shared in the wider classroom, allowing instructors and other learners to follow what is happening on the simulators and discuss activity as it unfolds.

To do

Central to the AV design is a large Absen KLCOB V2 LED wall, measuring over three metres wide with a fine 1.2mm pixel pitch. Installed at the front of the suite, the display provides a shared viewing area, allowing footage from the simulators and VR environment to be presented for group teaching. The display is constructed from a 5x7 configuration of LED panels, installed with a Peerless-AV LED mounting system to ensure accurate alignment across the wall.

A NovaStar H Series video wall processor manages the display’s video inputs and content arrangement. The system includes the NovaStar H2 Mainframe together with dedicated sending, HDMI input and output cards, providing the flexibility required to handle multiple simulator and avatar feeds. During commissioning, GVAV configured the processor to accommodate both portrait and landscape content simultaneously, allowing different source formats to be presented together on the LED wall. The modular nature of the NOVASTAR system facilitates future expansion and adaptation, while maintaining optimal performance and reliability.

This configuration means that teaching staff can display up to five simulator and VR feeds simultaneously, with predefined layouts allowing quick switching between individual and multi-source configurations. This is particularly valuable during collaborative exercises, where students may be operating different vehicles within the same virtual environment. Instructors can use the display to demonstrate how individual actions affect the wider site and review how learners approach particular tasks.

To do

Integrated within the room’s lectern, an Extron TLP Pro 1025T touchscreen provides straightforward control of the LED wall from the teaching position.

Through the GVAV-designed GUI, users can select individual feeds from any of the room’s simulators, or choose from a series of predefined multi-display layouts to share several sources at once.

Power and volume controls are also available from the same interface.

The room’s custom-branded TOP-TEC Ruby Mono+ lectern also accommodates the AV equipment within its integrated rack space. On top of the lectern, an additional interface for managing teaching content, a SMART Mini 727 podium has also been installed.

Audio in the room is delivered through two Extron CA 43T column speakers, positioned on either side of the LED wall. These are supported by a Blaze by Sonance PowerZone Connect 122 DSP amplifier which offers digital signal processing for optimal audio clarity and flexibility within the space.

GVAV also incorporated dedicated Gude power management and an Adastra rack cooling unit into the installation to support the reliable operation of the system. Throughout the installation, careful attention was paid to cable management, accessibility, and maintenance requirements. GVAV’s Scotland team ensured a clean, efficient, and future-ready deployment of a system designed for ease of use, and seamless integration with existing campus systems.

The new Multi-Vehicle Driving Simulation Suite provides Forth Valley College with a specialist training environment where learners can develop experience of operating machinery and working collaboratively before moving on to live equipment.

The room’s AV system plays an important role in supporting its trainees. By bringing together multiple views on a shared LED display, instructors can better observe and discuss practical scenarios with groups of learners. The project demonstrates how specialist audiovisual integration can support specialist learning spaces beyond traditional classroom environments.

“

“GVAV’s innovative approach and technical expertise have been instrumental in creating an immersive, reliable, and user-friendly Driving Simulation Suite. By seamlessly bringing together multiple simulator and VR feeds on a shared high-quality display, GVAV has helped us deliver a cutting-edge, state-of-the-art facility that enables collaborative, realistic training and helps learners build confidence, practical skills, and industry awareness before progressing to live equipment.”

Laura Fraser

Skills Transition Centre Project Manager, Forth Valley College

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