During the Technology & Maintenance Council’s Spring Meeting, the nation’s premier trucking technology organization launched a new augmented reality game app. The platform is designed to attract, foster, and welcome a new generation of skilled technicians to the industry.
Called TMCSuperTech: The Game, the app is based on TMC’s National Technician Skills Competition. It aims to target middle and high school students and is free to download on both the App Store and the Google Play Store.
“The time is ripe for new methods of attracting the next generation technician workforce to our industry,” stated ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “Having a mobile, smart-device based game is an excellent means of supporting outreach campaigns focused on generating interest in the trucking and transportation industry among school-aged children.”
“Today’s technician faces very different challenges than 30 years ago — they are more likely to use a computer than a crescent wrench to repair today’s commercial vehicles,” said TMC Executive Director Robert Braswell. “Gamification is a compelling new way to reach people, especially a younger audience, through smartphones and tablets. We are very excited to employ this new technology to reach students who may be otherwise unaware of the opportunities they have as a commercial vehicle technician.”
The app teaches the players to examine and repair various aspects of tractor-trailers such as tire/wheel, brake, and engine repair through mini-games focused on each of these. The experience offers 15 levels of gameplay, beginning with a student technician and ultimately progressing to the owner of a repair shop.
The reward system within the app ‘pays’ the gamers for them to buy unique paint jobs for their fleet of trucks and other performance improvements. The players are redirected to TMC and its outreach partner, the TechForce Foundation, through several links within the game to educate them about career and scholarship opportunities for becoming a commercial vehicle technician.
The principal sponsors of the game are Travel Centers of America and Arkansas’ OSD. Additional sponsors include Cummins, Dana, Worldwide Equipment, Volvo Trucks Academy, and Peterson Manufacturing. Design Interactive, based in Orlando, Florida, helped the organization with the development of the game.
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