Video training system for simulataneously training a plurality of

Abstract

A system for simultaneously interactively training a plurality of students at student stations which may be remote from one another is described. A videodisc player capable of accessing any portion of a videodisc on which has been recorded instructional materials is coupled to a television monitor at each student station. Each student station also comprises a microcomputer into which the student inputs his or her response to the situations presented on the television monitor by the videodisc player. In one embodiment, selected video signals from the videodisc on the videodisc player are digitized and stored in a computer memory. These stored video signals may represent simulated outcomes corresponding to the reponses of the students. Thereafter, the different responses of the students cause either the video signals stored in the computer memory to be converted into analog format and applied to the appropriate television monitors, or causes the videodisc player to access an appropriate portion of the videodisc. A multiport transmitter controllable by signals from the microcomputers results in the appropriate video signals being applied to the appropriate television monitors. In the present invention, fiber optic video links between the videodisc player and the television monitors permit interference-free transmission even within structures or in an industrial area in which the students are remotely located from one another and from the videodisc player.