Collaborative agreement to conduct innovative applied research in the area of user experience (UX) to improve performance of aircraft pilots

CAE, a world leader in pilot training, is joining forces with a leading user experience research lab in North America, HEC Montréal's Tech3Lab. Biometrics, neuroscience and big data analysis will be used to study behaviors in a training context and identify high performance factors.

This agreement will significantly advance the research on user experience for aircraft pilots in flight simulators. The partnership was made possible through the Institute for Data Valorisation (IVADO).

“We are very pleased with this historic partnership between CAE and Tech3Lab. Thanks to the expertise of this seasoned team, in collaboration with the knowledge of our employees in engineering and our pilots, we will be able to analyze the key factors for effective training in flight simulators with unprecedented quantitative depth,” said Marc St-Hilaire, Vice President of Technology and Innovation at CAE.

“This exciting project brings new challenges to UX research as well as concrete research questions,” said Sylvain Sénécal, a professor at HEC Montréal and Co-director of Tech3Lab. “There is no doubt that this partnership with CAE will expand knowledge in this area, benefitting both the industry and the scientific community in general.”

“We are thrilled with this important partnership with CAE,” stated Robert Gagné, Chairman of the board of directors for IVADO and Director of Research at HEC Montréal. “I look forward to the results of this very promising research project. Once again, Montreal is proving to be on the cutting edge of technological research.”

“Training is at the core of CAE's business, and here we have a concrete example where big data and the latest technologies could revolutionize training and ensure that the user experience in flight simulators garners the best possible results. Ultimately, this will allow us to optimize pilot training and improve passenger safety as a whole,” said Marc St-Hilaire.

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