A South Yorkshire commercial kitchen specialist has been given the backing of Simon Rimmer after impressing the celebrity chef with its powerful new VR (virtual reality) investment, which he believes will transform the way in which commercial kitchens are developed.
Lloyd Catering Equipment, which counts some of the UK’s best known restaurant and pub companies amongst its client base, has developed a powerful new Room-scale VR (room-scale virtual reality) system which will help designers and clients to test the functionality and workflow of a design prior to installation.
The system developed by Lloyd’s allows the opportunity for clients to step inside a proposed design in a very real sense, to walk freely and look wherever they wish, to accurately judge space and how different elements of the design interact with one another. To facilitate this extremely immersive insight in to their design, the team at Lloyd’s have used an advanced form of VR technology commonly referred to as Room-scale VR.
Room-scale VR uses a combination of movement and headset tracking within an area to accurately simulate moving in the virtual environment, allowing the user to move freely around a design in a very natural and intuitive way.
The family-run business recently invited respected consultant chef and presenter Simon Rimmer to trial the system for himself.
Simon Rimmer said, “In the catering industry staff must be able to work quickly and efficiently, often under pressure and good design is fundamental to a commercial kitchen environment. The technology developed by Lloyd Catering Equipment heralds a significant step forward in the way that kitchen designs are developed and tested.
“The experience, which is remarkably similar to walking around a physical kitchen, provides a deeply engaging and clear insight into how the layout will function.'
Simon Lloyd, Managing Director, Lloyd Catering Equipment, said, “In our profession, it is of prime importance that we are able to convey design ideas clearly. 2D plans and elevations as well as 3D rendered illustrations go some way towards this goal but ultimately, they are only able to show things from a single perspective or viewpoint.
“In the past we have used animated walk-throughs for presentations and found these to be a step up in this regard, but the VR system we have adopted goes way beyond these limitations. Clients are able to examine and assess every aspect of the proposed layout, walking around the design, looking at what’s around them, above them and behind them. It is the closest experience currently possible next to exploring a physical installation and since implementing the new technology we’ve received an overwhelmingly positive response.
“Our goal was to develop a smooth and fluid virtual experience, which offered a genuine benefit to our clients. We’ve been working with virtual reality for quite a while and following an extensive period of time trialling different solutions and techniques, we feel the technology we have embraced will help to not only improve efficiency in the design of commercial kitchens, but also enables different concepts to be trialled and tested.”