Saab, a global defense and security company (and former parent company of the car manufacturer of the same name), says that it will further develop a VR experience designed to demonstrate a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher offered by the company.

Saab is the manufacturer of the Carl-Gustaf recoilless rifle (among a wide range of other defense products), a man-portable anti-tank launcher that’s been used in militaries around the globe following its initial introduction in 1948.

VR/AR agency Vobling initially built a VR experience in 2017 designed to show off the capabilities of the latest Carl-Gustaf launcher (the M4) and serve as the main attraction for Saab’s presence at the Defence and Security Equipment International conference in London that year.

Making use of an HTC Vive headset for visuals, Vobling outfitted the Carl Gustaf launcher with a Vive Tracker to allow the weapon to be used as a prop within the VR experience. A real version of the weapon was used, allowing users to experience the actual weight, shape, and operation of the launcher, right up to the point of firing the weapon. The experience doesn’t attempt to offer any haptics for actually firing the weapon, but it shows how to sight and fire at targets, and use a range of projectiles (designed for different types of targets) which can be fired by the launcher.

Image courtesy Vobling

Now Vobling has announced that Saab has picked the company to further develop the experience which is now a “key ingredient” at the Saab HQ showroom located in Stockhold.

“This VR experience has proven to be very popular in our showroom and we are looking forward to extend the functionality to further increase the realism and build on the number of scenarios available for our guests,” says Patrick Mollbrink, Marketing Communication Manager at Saab.

SEE ALSO
HapTech is Aiming its Electromagnetic Haptics at Military VR Training

The expanded experience is being designed with the higher resolution Vive Pro in mind, as well as the Varjo headset which includes a central display with enough resolution that it could drastically improve the experience of looking through the virtual scope of the launcher and aiming at distant targets. The project is expected to be completed in Q1.

Image courtesy Saab

It’s unclear at this time whether or not Saab has plans to build the experience into something that could be used for actual combat training, but Vobling says that the present experience walks users through a “realistic training scenario,” so it certainly doesn’t seem off the table for the future of the project.

Newsletter graphic

This article may contain affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product we may receive a small commission which helps support the publication. More information.


Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • brimper

    Kojima was right.

    • And

      First destroy the high voltage switch

  • JesuSaveSouls

    Wardust has a excellent vr launcher.I always pick engineer to use the launcher.

  • Best VR controller ever! :O