The collaboration aims to bridge esports, industry partnerships and academic research, providing students with exposure to advanced racing technologies and motorsport dynamics. Over the next 20 months, these simulators will serve both competitive and academic pursuits, fostering skills in game design, engineering and motorsport.
"At Humber Esports, we're shaping the future of esports education and innovation," said Bernard Mafei, senior administrator for Humber Esports. "This collaboration with SimStaff allows our students to design, compete and create with industry-standard tools while building a community that celebrates creativity, technical mastery and collaboration. By blending hands-on experiences in sim racing with opportunities in esports, game development, research and industry partnerships, we're preparing our students to excel in a rapidly evolving global landscape."
The racing simulators are located in the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation.
The goals of the SimStaff Velocity Lab project are to allow Humber's varsity gaming team to recruit and train student drivers and coaches for sim racing competitions. Students will also design a custom digital racecar representing Humber Esports that will be featured in national and international sim racing competitions such as the eNASCAR College iRacing Series.
It will also have benefits for learners. FMCAD faculty and students will map and digitally render a racetrack based on Humber's landscape, creating an integrated gameplay experience that merges real-world settings with virtual simulations. It will allow students to develop technical expertise in areas such as digital scanning, spatial computing and race mechanics, which are skills highly valued in technical industries.
Leveraging emerging technologies including AR, VR and haptics, research teams will explore novel forms of racing simulation. This includes integrating racing simulators with remotely controlled cars on a physical track, which creates an interactive experience that deepens technical proficiencies in spatial computing and robotics central to advanced manufacturing and STEM industries.
There will also be workshops led by SimStaff experts on topics such as car setup, race strategy and data analysis to provide students with hands-on experience and industry insight.
"As the global powerhouse of Sim Racing, our ever-expanding network brings great value to the industry and our partners," said Josh Martin, founder of SimStaff. "This collaboration with Humber not only allows us to develop top talent in North America but offer tangible workplace opportunities to students at Humber. Humber's receptiveness to this emerging technology sets a great precedent for our respective industries and we're excited to move forward with them."
The partnership will also lead to work-integrated learning opportunities for students with SimStaff, chances for students to work with SimStaff and Humber on business opportunities, mentorship by industry professionals and other benefits.
Martin said that SimStaff will have a presence at the Canadian International Auto Show in February and Humber students will have opportunities to support SimStaff at the event. Martin and his team visited Humber on December 13 to explore North Campus and see the racing simulators in use by the community.
As part of Building Brilliance: Our Vision to 2030 and Beyond, we are shedding the traditional constraints of higher education and reimagining a model that both adapts to and shapes the world around us. Humber has a powerful convening ability and we can bring together key players from across the entire ecosystem - nationally and internationally - in ways that others cannot. By 2030, Humber will be the go-to destination for partners who want to solve problems, increase productivity, commercialize their innovations, and succeed in a competitive market. We'll be their engine of productivity and growth. By making bold decisions around how we fundamentally operate, we can reimagine learning, forge deeper partnerships and drive impact, creating real value and progress. This story is an example of how we are building brilliance by developing deeper partnerships every day.
