CAE Prodigy Image Generator

The CAE Prodigy is an image generator (IG) for full-flight simulators that marks a structural break from traditional proprietary rendering pipelines. CAE built Prodigy on Epic Games' Unreal Engine — the same renderer used in high-fidelity real-time applications — and in 2024 became the first aviation simulation organisation to achieve Level D FFS qualification with a gaming-engine-powered IG. That certification confirms the system meets the most stringent regulatory standard for visual fidelity and latency.

Prodigy supports display output up to 8K resolution at 120 Hz refresh rates, enabling collimated, direct projection, and head-mounted display configurations from a single platform. The renderer implements a physics-based atmosphere model with volumetric lighting, real-time shadows, reflections, and specular effects, replacing the pre-baked, manually-authored skyboxes that constrained previous-generation IGs. Urban and geo-typical terrain is populated with AI-generated 3D content at higher density and accuracy than prior systems; geo-specific airport zones are authored separately and integrate seamlessly into the surrounding geo-typical world.

The entity count capability increases by orders of magnitude compared to legacy CAE IGs, enabling realistic ramp traffic, vehicle, and human populations in training scenarios. Integration with CAE True Airport Services keeps airport geometry and markings current, and the CAE Airport Clutter Editor (ACE) lets instructors build and modify traffic scenarios without dedicated content production staff.

For training centres evaluating next-generation IG upgrades — particularly those supporting wide-body operations in complex, high-density airport environments such as those across the GCC — Prodigy's open-engine foundation also reduces long-term content production costs, since asset creation workflows are compatible with the broader Unreal Engine ecosystem rather than proprietary toolchains.