Featured Stories

Bangkok University proudly presents another success story of its students and faculty with the project "CoSI Pilot: A VR-Based Drone Training Simulator" - a virtual reality drone pilot training system that won 2^nd place (Silver Prize) in the IEEE GCCE 2025 Excellent Demo! Awards category at the 2025 IEEE 14^th Global Conference on Consumer Electronics in Japan. Bangkok University was the only Thai institution to receive this honor at this global event.

The Innovation Team

This work is the result of collaboration between master's degree students and undergraduate students from the School of Information Technology and Innovation, led by Wg. Cdr. Sitti Srisuwan, Director of Safety Management and UAV Project Manager at the Defense Technology Institute (DTI), along with Mr. Thanayos  Siratranont, a master's degree student, and Mr. Naran  Lamoonpandh, an undergraduate student. The project received support from Asst. Prof.Dr.Kingkarn  Sookhanaphibarn and Asst. Prof.Dr.Worawat Choensawat, research faculty from the Center of Specialty Innovation (CoSI) at Bangkok University.

Project Background

This project emerged from a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Bangkok University and the Defense Technology Institute (DTI). Bangkok University provided scholarships to DTI personnel to promote academic knowledge. Wg. Cdr. Sitti, or "Teacher Keng," a drone pilot instructor at DTI, explained the project's origin: "DTI has an imported simulator system from abroad used for basic drone flight training before actual field practice. However, I encountered several limitations from real-world usage, which inspired me to develop a drone pilot training system that could overcome those limitations."

System Objectives and Key Features

With expertise in drone flight training and knowledge of principles, laws, and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) standards, Teacher Keng established the following system objectives:

1. Reduce actual flight training resources, saving costs and practical training time
2. Minimize equipment loss risk, preventing drone damage during practice
3. Increase training convenience, enabling 24-hour practice regardless of location and weather conditions
4. Create a standardized evaluation system to clearly and consistently assess trainee capabilities

Special Innovation: Measuring Pilot "Attitude"

          What makes this system stand out is the addition of an Attitude measurement system. Teacher Keng emphasized: "Beyond drone flight training and assessment, measuring pilot attitude is as important as flying skills, especially regarding safety. This system is designed to monitor flight behavior through various simulated scenarios to measure thinking, risk response, and decision-making in emergency situations, helping trainees develop Beyond Skill capabilities."

System Development Process

Creating this project involved combining the expertise of all three team members. Led by Teacher Keng, an expert in international standard drone flight training, Mr. Thanayos and Mr. Naran brought their information technology knowledge. The two explained their work process: "After exchanging requirements with Teacher Keng, we had to translate the procedures, principles, and assessments into concrete form, including field visits to study actual drone flight training. Then we began structuring various systems to create a complete drone pilot training simulator, including 3D models, physical simulation, and backend systems for evaluation, along with hands-on testing, resulting in the CoSI Pilot project we see today."

CoSI Pilot System Highlights

Asst. Prof.Dr.Kingkarn  Sookhanaphibarn, a faculty member at CoSI, described the system's highlights: "The VR-based drone pilot training simulator stands out for its customization to suit Thai training curricula, with realistic environmental simulation using domestic topographic data, real-time performance analysis and tracking systems, user-friendly interface, lower cost than commercial products, and future expandability for additional equipment connections."

Global Success

The IEEE Global Conference on Consumer Electronics is held annually. In 2025, over 800 papers were submitted, with only 40 selected for exhibition. The CoSI Pilot project not only passed the selection but also won the Silver Prize in the IEEE GCCE 2025 Excellent Demo! Awards category. Asst. Prof.Dr.Worawat Choensawat, a CoSI faculty member, stated: "We are the only Thai university to receive this award, reflecting the potential of our students and team in creating internationally quality innovations."

Project Future

Asst. Prof.Dr.Worawat revealed future plans: "The Faculty of Engineering is preparing to open a Drone Department. The creation of this project marks an important starting point in educational development. Once this system is fully tested and refined, it will be ready for use in teaching future students. Additionally, general drone flight trainees can use this system as an alternative to imported foreign systems."