Simulocity
Virtualizing Organizations - Collaborative Training via Simulation Technologies

Prior to founding Simulocity in 2014, Dr. Manny Dominguez had developed a first of its kind virtual hospital and online collaborative learning environment for the U.S. Air Force—USAF Virtual Medical Center (VMC). Later he implemented it at the U.S. Veterans Health Administration, which serves 360,000 employees and over six million patients. The platform provided increased access to medical education, wellness tools, eConsults, gamification, and a plethora of Veterans Health resources, anytime-anywhere. The success of this avant-garde technology inspirited Dr. Dominguez to continue his innovation. Subsequently, he founded Simulocity to provide simulation technology and innovative management consulting across a wide range of industries. “Our goal is to improve the efficiency of organizations by offering leading-edge technology expertise and increasing access to their organizational resources, virtually,” says Dr. Dominguez. Standing by their vision, Simulocity developed its flagship product—SIMCITA, a state-of-the-art platform that businesses can utilize to virtualize their organization. “Companies can use SIMCITA to create a VR version of their firm that includes custom venues such as the main lobby, conference rooms, and corporate departments,” says Dr. Dominguez. “They can also upload their content, branding, and institutional materials for their employees, partners, learners, and instructors to access.” SIMCITA also has a virtual concierge—a smart avatar that is available 24/7/365 and can be programmed to answer users’ queries. Organizations can infuse Simulocity’s virtual assistants with institutional knowledge and engineer them accordingly to provide an overview of the company’s products, upcoming events, and any specific corporate knowledge. Depending on the organization, the easy-to-navigate platform can also be tailored either as a virtual hospital, virtual campus, or a convention center.

For instance, the platform can be implemented as a virtual simulation center that provides medical simulation-based training such as standardized patients, manikin-based, and various other resources like videos and medical games which supplement existing training.

Depending on the organization, the easy-to-navigate platform can be tailored either as a virtual hospital, campus, or a convention center

“This takes the whole e-learning experience to a new level,” explains Dr. Dominguez. “When accessing SIMCITA, users will feel like they are actually present in the organization, which is the maxim of our VR platform: Be Virtually There.” Simulocity’s platform can be accessed in two different modes: 2D and 3D. The 2D version is a low-bandwidth friendly VR learning environment that provides quick touch-and-go access to an organization’s resources. The 3D version provides a much more immersive experience where users can navigate through the virtual world and interact with other users via avatars.

The essence of Simulocity’s success lies in the company’s broad and proven expertise and their ability to tailor solutions. Dr. Dominguez’s extensive experience as an innovator and leader is paramount. In one instance, Simulocity was approached by a client that managed global events and conferences that struggled to work in technologies beyond online meeting software. “They found it hard to share the events, courses, training standards, and content for all clients in a 21st century, immersive, and engaging modality,” states Dr. Dominguez. Reciprocating to their request, Simulocity developed a virtual conference center that the client could access for training videos, attend classes and a virtual expo hall, hold private meetings with instructors, and share best practices. The VR platform was transformed to the look and feel of a brick and mortar convention center.

Looking toward the future, Simulocity is working on integrating additional features like an EHR, telehealth module, scheduling tools, LMS, and other resources into its VR platform to further enhance the user experience. “We are presently working with a client that wants us to virtualize their university, where they can integrate their admission and campus systems, library, virtual campus tours, and all aspects of the university,” adds Dr. Dominguez. “We are very excited to build this and hope to continue collaborating with other universities in the future.”