From an MVP with 7 students to founding VIRTEC
An RTG crane simulator built in 3 months in the classroom ended in an agreement with the port and a company.
See the project: RTG / STS port cranes- My role
- Instructor and Project Lead
- Location
- Altamira, Mexico
- Year
- 2019
- Duration
- 3-month MVP
Illustration
01 The starting point
Altamira Terminal Portuaria trained RTG crane operators on real equipment, where every hour of practice is costly and risky. From the university, I proposed showing that a homegrown simulator could cover the basic maneuvers.
02 Scope
In scope
- RTG cabin and basic controls
- Lifting and stacking maneuvers in the yard
- A working demo for the port
Out of scope
- Operator certification
- Wind and weather physics
- Instructor reports
03 Process
- Month 1
Requirements with operators and yard modeling
- Month 2
Crane physics and controls
- Month 3
Testing with operators and a demo at the port
- Afterwards
Agreement with ATP and the founding of VIRTEC
04 On site
Illustration Demo in the container yard
Illustration Team of 7 students
Illustration Prototype cabin
05 Results
7
students on the team
3
months to MVP
1
agreement with ATP
06 What I learned
A prototype the client can touch is more convincing than any proposal. Since then, every project starts with something working in weeks, not months.