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CASE STUDY

how Exail delivers small footprint driving simulation with mixed reality 

 With military operations becoming increasingly complex, the need to prepare highly skilled and capable land forces drivers is more critical than ever. To meet this demand, Exail is combining an open simulator platform with a Varjo XR-4 headset to bring realistic vehicle dimensions, movement and surroundings into a compact training setup. 

Customer

Industry

Defense

Category

Simulated Training

Headset

Varjo XR-4 (2026)

XR-4-2026

About 

Exail has been developing training simulation solutions since 1987, with approximately 2,000 simulators delivered for cars, trucks and armored vehicles. Its driving simulation portfolio spans civil, emergency response and defense applications, with solutions designed to reproduce realistic driving conditions while giving instructors flexibility to adapt training to different vehicles and scenarios. 

Mixed reality entered that product line in August 2023, when Exail announced a driving simulator coupled to Varjo headsets and aimed at land forces driver preparation. The cost-effective, low-footprint system combines the physicality of a driving simulator with the freedom and visual flexibility of a virtual environment. 

 

Where simulation goes beyond the vehicle 

Set against training in a real vehicle, the case for driving simulation is not primarily about cost. It is that the scenarios with the most training value are the ones an instructor cannot stage: traction lost on a descent under load, a rollover beginning on a side slope, a wheel dropping into a ditch. In a vehicle, these can only be described.  

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In simulation a driver can enter the failure, feel it develop, and repeat it until the correction is automatic, then do so again on terrain the unit has no access to or in weather that will not arrive for another six months. Availability compounds the case, since armored platforms are few and expensive and an hour given to driver training is an hour withheld from the operational fleet. None of this displaces time in the vehicle, but a simulator rehearses what a vehicle cannot.  

What it rehearses, though, depends on what the trainee can see. Screen-based simulators reproduce roads, terrain and traffic well, yet they struggle with the skills that rest on a driver's sense of where the vehicle is: off-road, the viewpoint has to move with the head, and a driver looking over the front of the vehicle to read what lies beyond a slope gets nothing back from a display at a fixed distance.  

The same limit applies to vehicle envelope, the learned feel for a machine's dimensions and for the clearances left and right that decide whether a turn goes. For armored crews the stakes rise further, since tactical situational awareness depends on scanning a full perimeter for threats rather than just the ground ahead. 

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THE SOLUTION

AN open frame on a moving platform 

Adding physical motion to a simulator traditionally means adding physical hardware around the trainee. Full cabin replicas can deliver a highly realistic experience, but they also require considerable space and investment. 

Exail set out to deliver that same sense of physical realism in a more compact format. Their solution brings together an open driving simulator platform, a dynamic motion system and a Varjo XR-4 headset. The approach strips the cabin back to what the trainee's hands actually touch: the EF-Truck configuration pairs a three-axis motion platform with an open seat frame carrying the real steering wheel, pedals and controls. The XR-4 headset then provides the surrounding visual environment, allowing the same physical setup to represent different vehicles, terrains, and training scenarios. 

“With the mixed reality headset, you get the same sense of immersion as a full replica of the cabin, but on an open platform with a smaller logistical footprint and a lower cost,” says Louis Elcabache, Driving Simulation Sales Manager at Exail.

 

"When you wear a Varjo headset, you feel like you are in a real truck.”

 

Inside the training experience 

At any given training session, a trainee sits in the frame, puts on the headset, and sees their hands on a real wheel inside a virtual vehicle. What follows depends on the discipline being trained. 

Logistics drivers rehearse precision maneuvers with a working read on the vehicle's envelope. First responders train off-road driving for forest fire interventions, where interpreting terrain hidden by the hood is the substance of the task. For military users, the wide field of view enables trainees to monitor their surroundings and develop tactical situational awareness.  

The immersive experience keeps trainees fully engaged in the scenario, while the perimeter view provides a convincing sense of speed and movement. Underneath all of it, the motion platform reproduces the movement and vibration of actual vehicle operation, so the visual and physical channels are consistent with each other. 

"You need the highest quality mixed reality headset because driving simulation is dynamic training. You need to track the motion platform and the head position exactly, with no latency,” Elcabache explains. “Together, these elements create a more fluid driving experience and bring it closer to real-world driving.” 

Hear from the Exail team at ITEC 2026

Building the next generation of driving training

For Exail, XR is not replacing the fundamentals of driving simulation, it is extending what can be achieved with them.

The company's existing simulation expertise provides the physical foundation, while mixed reality adds a more flexible way to represent vehicles, environments, and scenarios. The combination opens the door to increasingly sophisticated training without requiring a corresponding increase in physical infrastructure.

As training requirements evolve across civil, emergency response and military applications, this flexibility becomes increasingly important. A single physical setup can support different vehicles and scenarios, while instructors can adapt training to specific operational needs.

 

"Realism is at the core of our training philosophy. The mixed reality headset provides a point-of-view relative to the position in the vehicle, immersing trainees in an authentic driving experience.” LOUIS ELCABACHE, Driving Simulation Sales Manager at Exail

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