In the realm of culinary business, digital technology is revolutionary.
Themassive digital shift in the food sector
"Digital tech is revolutionizing the flow, mindset, connections among people, companies, and processes" - that's how Catherine Guyonnet, Director of Business and Asset Innovation at OCAPIAT, sets the tone. Technology is reshaping the food industry, including the use of virtual reality. The pandemic forced firms to adapt rapidly and remote work became the norm, speeding up the digital transformation process.
Catherine emphasizes the importance of striking a balance between human and digital interactions. OCAPIAT supports companies in making smart digital choices and integrating tools efficiently, considering the right framework. The dilemma is, "when should we use serious games or virtual reality?" OCAPIAT, a professional training operator, is confident that new tech, particularly immersive tech, presents an opportunity to revitalize vocational training.
Apart from training, other applications of VR and AR include design, operator assistance, decision-making, sales, and marketing. However, immersive tech didn't create an immediate need in the food industry initially; it's mainly used for remote monitoring and alerts, such as monitoring crop growth or aiding in field treatments. As Marie Leblanc, our website's Head of Services, puts it, "there's a growing trend in using immersive tech in the agricultural and food sector."
VR and AR in food sector training
VR and AR are subtly yet persistently invading the food sector, with employee training as its key driver. Xavier Negrie, Head of Training and Campus at Agromousquetaires, spoke about the unveiling of a campus in 2018 that integrated digital training. Virtual classrooms surfaced as early as then and were utilized during the lockdown. Trainers and learners discovered how traditional and digital teaching methods can synergize.
Irène Azar, Innovation Project Manager at OCAPIAT, discussed their Immersive Training Platform - "Entreprise Virtuelle" (Virtual Enterprise). This novel project, supported by the European Social Fund, represents a breakthrough in the food sector. The objective is to create a stimulating, immersive learning environment that enables professionals to explore inaccessible areas, such as high-risk zones and kitchens, without the risks involved in reality. The platform, designed in collaboration with Inedy and Evaveo, delivers skill certifications in simulated environments. Virtual reality not only revolutionizes learning but also stimulates motivation, heightens attention, and activates four of our five senses.
Marc Bringuier, Director of Augmented Reality at PTC, is a proponent of the use of immersive tech for employee training. He highlights that traditional training methods lead to memory loss, but augmented reality facilitates faster learning. It allows flexibility, enabling employees to be trained effectively at home, offices, or workspaces.
AgroVirtu'Ose: VR training implementation in the food sector
Emmanuel Prouvost, Training Advisor at OCAPIAT, introduced AgroVirtu'Ose, a collective project involving nine companies from Picardie in North France. One of the first initiatives integrating VR training in the food sector, AgroVirtu'Ose offers a customizable and scalable solution for all companies. It supports new employees and enables quick, interactive training in various scenarios, such as risk assessments and safety training.
Bonduelle, a large food group, has adopted AgroVirtu'Ose. Jean-Paul Loviny, Bonduelle's Training Manager for France, shared how the tool will be deployed across the group's 19 sites (employing 4,000 people). The initiative is a part of Bonduelle's innovation strategy, focusing on the safety and well-being of all employees. The goal is to establish a true culture of safety, aiming for zero workplace accidents by 2025.
Potential of VR in food sector: perspectives and possibilities
Nathalie Hutter-Lardeau, CEO of Evidence Santé, questions how virtual reality can aid in nutritional education. The health crisis has emphasized the importance of balanced meals, and people are becoming more conscious of the nutritional value of their food. Virtual reality can improve knowledge and boost health by facilitating product filming, organizing virtual factory visits, and creating digital markets for informed choices. Evidence Santé has already designed a virtual reality experience for Lactel, encouraging participants to make pancakes virtually and providing real-time nutritional advice.
In conclusion, virtual reality brings significant potential to the food sector, offering innovative solutions for training, risk prevention, and operational optimization. Its integration with artificial intelligence and IoT technologies will further solidify its role in modern agriculture, enabling increasingly responsive, intelligent, and adaptive simulations.
- In the food sector, OCAPIAT's Immersive Training Platform, titled "Entreprise Virtuelle" (Virtual Enterprise), is creating a novel learning environment for professionals, allowing them to explore inaccessible areas like high-risk zones and kitchens without risk, revolutionizing education-and-self-development and learning.
- Xavier Negrie, Head of Training and Campus at Agromousquetaires, mentioned the integration of digital training in 2018, with virtual classrooms being utilized even during the lockdown, demonstrating the synergy between traditional and technology-based teaching methods in the food-and-drink industry.
- Evidence Santé, led by Nathalie Hutter-Lardeau, is exploring the use of virtual reality in nutritional education, with the aim to improve public knowledge about the nutritional value of food, aligning with the growing trend of people making healthier food choices (data-and-cloud-computing and technology).
