In the augmented reality (AR) it is usually implied that the real world is augmented by virtual objects. But what about the augmentation of the virtual world by real objects? – such an “inverse” AR is required in airside driver training systems. Drivers of some airside vehicles have to move while working, that’s why traditional driving simulators (where the user has to sit in the driver’s chair) are not usable to train them. For example the drivers of airport cargo loaders have to move between two consoles – the driving console and the cargo console. The training of these drivers can be well implemented in the virtual reality (VR), but VR has a substantial drawback of a poor tactile feedback. Today’s haptic gloves provide very modest tactile effects which are absolutely insufficient for effective training.

The paper describes the system for the cargo loader drivers which solves this problem using the inverse AR: the physical models of the loader consoles are spatially aligned with the 3D models of these consoles by means of the precise tracking sensors located on the user’s hands, feet and head. Thus when the user touches the virtual control elements in VR he/she simultaneously touches the real control elements and this provides the full tactile feedback. The physical models of the consoles provide a signal input to control the virtual loader.