Cineon and Visionary Training Resources Partner to Explore AI-Driven Pilot Competency Assessment

United Kingdom & USA – UK-based behavioural AI and aviation training technology developer Cineon has announced a new working relationship with US-based virtual reality (VR) pilot training provider Visionary Training Resources (VTR). The collaboration will explore combining VTR's FlightDeckToGo® platform with Cineon's eye-tracking analytics and behavioural AI technologies to support pilot competency assessment and training performance analysis.

• Announced on 9 October 2026, the collaboration will investigate how pilot actions recorded during immersive VR training can be combined with behavioural and cognitive performance data to provide additional insight into pilot development.
• VTR's FlightDeckToGo® platform enables pilots to practise flight deck procedures, flows, checklists and memory items in virtual environments before progressing to full flight simulator training. The platform records individual procedural actions, providing training data that can be analysed alongside Cineon's behavioural measurements.
• The companies will examine applications for Competency-Based Training and Assessment (CBTA), including tracking competency development, supporting instructor evaluations and generating performance evidence for airline training departments and regulatory requirements.
• The proposed integration will use Cineon's Empathic Learning Engine (ELE), an AI platform that analyses eye-tracking and behavioural data to estimate attention, cognitive workload and performance. Combining these measurements with FlightDeckToGo's procedural records could allow instructors to assess not only whether pilots complete required actions but also how visual attention and cognitive responses relate to task performance.

Statements

• “VTR and Cineon share a commitment to developing products grounded in robust evidence and modern research, making them natural partners for collaboration. Together, the companies bring complementary expertise and an innovative, research-led approach to product development. VTR has developed an impressive platform that is helping modernise pilot training through immersive technology. What excites us about this collaboration is the opportunity to combine that immersive experience with objective insight into how pilots learn and perform. By bringing together VR training and behavioural AI, we can explore new ways to support competency development, improve training outcomes and enhance aviation safety,” said Toby de Burgh, CEO and Founder of Cineon.
• “We are excited to be working with Cineon. FlightDeckToGo records what a pilot does on the flight deck, action by action. Cineon’s eye tracking and behavioural AI show where a pilot’s attention goes and the cognitive effort behind each of those actions. Together, the two let us describe competency as it develops across training, in more detail than has been possible before. That detail is there to support instructors and pilots alike. Instructors get objective evidence to sit alongside their own judgement, and pilots get a clearer view of how their own skills are developing. Cineon’s team shares our view that training products should be built on evidence and research, and that is what makes them the right partner for this work. I am looking forward to seeing what we learn together,” said Aki Nikolaidis, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Scientist of VTR.

About Cineon
Founded in 2017 and headquartered at Exeter Science Park in the United Kingdom, Cineon develops behavioural AI, eye-tracking and immersive training technologies for aviation and other safety-critical industries. In March 2026, the company announced that its separate TACET Walkaround VR pilot training device had received approval from the UK Civil Aviation Authority as an Other Training Device (OTD).

About Visionary Training Resources
Founded in 2017 by airline pilots, Visionary Training Resources is a Florida-based aviation training technology company developing VR software for airline pilot instruction. In April 2025, VTR merged with Reaction Simulation, bringing VR software development capabilities in-house and establishing its combined operations in Lakeland, Florida.

Source: Cineon