I stopped by to see Andrey Safanyuk from iMarksman and got a tour of the iMarksman Virtual Training System. For agencies that have embraced the SIRT Training system, here is a product that complements the SIRT Laser Training Pistol.
The two companies are not associated, but the iMarksman LE Version package includes a SIRT laser pistol.
The SIRT pistol was designed to augment what we’re already doing in our training programs. The current model mimics the size, weight, and functionality of a Glock 17/22 pistol. It fires two lasers out the front and cannot be made to fire real cartridges. It can be used as a diagnostic tool for shooting mechanics or a simple training/practice tool.
For those M&P users, I got to look at the prototype SIRT pistol in an M&P configuration. Since the Smith and Wesson M&P has earned its place on patrol, this is a welcome addition (expected to be out soon).
Andrey talked me through the iMarksman. It uses a sensor camera that is easily calibrated to a projected screen. This camera recognizes the laser “hits” on the screen and scores them in the iMarksman system. If the training real estate is small, users can even shoot the screen of an ordinary laptop.
The software is capable of some branching — that is to say, changing the scenario based on the response of the shooter. This is where the iMarksman is unique. Since it uses commonly produced files like .jpegs and .wmv videos, the user (or agency) can produce their own scenarios.
That is, they can shoot some digitals around town, then make a scenario from the digitals.
To sum up: The iMarksman package uses a standard SIRT pistol. It reads common file formats to set up the scenarios. Not only that, it is laptop-sized portable and at a fairly reasonable price point.
