UPS Turns to Virtual Reality to Train Drivers

UPS says its new virtual reality training technology is realistic down to the finest details. Photo: UPS

UPS announced it will start using new, virtual reality (VR) technology to train drivers to better spot and identity road hazards. The training will be done using VR headsets that UPS said vividly simulate the experience of driving on city streets while providing a more memorable classroom lesson.

The company will begin launching VR training in September at its nine UPS Integrad training facilities in the U.S. and Europe. It said the adoption of VR for driver safety training reflects UPS's commitment to using the latest and best technology to protect its on-road employees and the communities they serve.

IT experts at UPS created the VR training modules that users see and hear inside VR headsets. Students using the modules must verbally identify potential road hazards such as pedestrians, parked cars and oncoming traffic. The 360-degree view inside the headset is realistic down to the finest details.

“Virtual Reality offers a big technological leap in the realm of driver safety training,” said Juan Perez, UPS chief information and engineering officer. “VR creates a hyper-realistic streetscape that will dazzle even the youngest of our drivers whose previous exposure to the technology was through video games.”

The VR training modules replace the touchscreen devices UPS Integrad facilities currently use to teach lessons on road hazards. For now, the VR training is only for those who drive package delivery trucks. But the company is exploring VR and even Augmented Reality (AR) for training tractor-trailer drivers and performing other duties throughout the operation.

UPS Integrad facilities teach students the fundamentals of driving delivery vehicles and delivering packages using a hands-on approach. Students even practice driving UPS delivery trucks in a replica outdoor city that has real streets and sidewalks and simulated delivery and ...Read the rest of this story

Economic Watch: Retail Sales Gains Push GDP Hopes Higher

One of the biggest drivers of the U.S. economy shifted into high gear in July, posting its biggest gain in seven months, according to a new Commerce Department report.

Retail sales increased 0.6% from June, the largest gain since December 2016 and better than a consensus estimate from Wall Street.

The department also upwardly revised June's performance for a 0.3% hike following an originally reported 0.2% drop from May. Retail sales in many earlier months of the year were lackluster.

The June level of retail sales is 4.2% higher than the same time a year earlier. Total retail sales for the May 2017 through July 2017 period were up 3.9% from the same period a year ago.

Helping to push the June level higher was a 1.2% increase in auto sales from the month before, its biggest increase since December. There were also strong gains in sales at furniture stores, hardware stores and restaurants.

Excluding sales of autos, gasoline, building materials and food services, so called “core sales” surged 0.6% last month following an upwardly revised 0.1% increase in June.

Non-store retailers, which includes online shopping, reported sales increased 1.3% in July from the month before, while recording a whopping 11.5% compared to July 2016.

This latest gain in retail sales adds to the hopes that the overall U.S. economy will find even more traction in the current quarter. The nation's gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.6% in the second quarter, up from the 1.2% pace in the first quarter of the year.

The July retail sales report was strong overall, and so was the core retail sales, which goes into the calculation of GDP, according to Eugenio J. Alemán, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities.

“This means that not only is the second quarter personal consumption expenditures probably going to be revised higher ...Read the rest of this story

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