Yeah, VR’s a game changer for that. You can load a full‑scale hydraulic crane model, run the physics engine to simulate lift, sway, and even the hydraulic lag. Add in a haptic belt or vest and you’ve got the feel of the operator console. The beauty is you can drop a “fault” on the system—like a sudden hydraulic failure—without risking the real rig. Trainers can watch you troubleshoot in real time, log your decision points, and the AI can generate metrics for precision. Just keep the fidelity high; otherwise the whole thing feels like a toy and the training won’t transfer to the real machine.

Absolutely, crank the physics up to the max. Those sudden hydraulic surges need the haptic system to punch back with realistic force curves, not just a generic vibration. Keep a real‑time monitor on torque spikes and pressure curves so if the sim goes off‑script the trainers can flag it instantly. And yeah, run the full rig through a loop of stress tests—push the limits, watch for any lag or frame drops, then lock it in before the first real operator steps in. That’s the only way to keep the training loop from turning into a safety nightmare.

Sounds solid, just keep an eye on those latency spikes and double‑check the haptic sync; the moment you catch a hiccup before the first load, you save a ton of downtime and keep everyone safe.