United States Department of Transportation
i
Development of an Immersive Training Platform for Roadway Construction Workers using Virtual Reality Technologies [Policy Brief]
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2024-03-31
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[PDF-500.07 KB]
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Abstract:Workforce education is crucial to ensuring the safety and equality of the work environment. Immersive virtual reality (VR) training is revolutionizing workforce education, providing practical on-the-job training within a safe simulated environment. The project aimed to develop an immersive training platform using state-of-the-art VR technologies and code proper work zone training scenarios on the VR platform as a demonstration. The research team developed the training platform based on Meta Quest Pro and Unity3D engine to achieve the research objectives. The platform consists of an immersive module and an assessment module. The interactive mechanism allows trainees to “learn by doing” and “learn from mistakes.” Flagger operations were coded on the VR platform. The VR flagger training scenarios are coded to include multiple training modules to instruct basic flagger operations, such as stop, release, and slow traffic. Additionally, they are designed to assess trainee performance at pre-defined checkpoints. An internal test was conducted to preliminarily evaluate the VR platform’s training effectiveness. Nine volunteers without work zone experience participated in the internal test. These participants took VR or traditional training, followed by a field test and a posttraining survey. The research team compared two participants’ training performance before and after the VR training. Participants’ feedback, opinions, and recommendations on the VR training were also summarized. The internal test results indicated that VR training is an attractive solution to enhance work zone training. The research findings suggest that VR training is more effective than traditional training, with an effectiveness rate of 89% compared to 82%. VR training can serve as a supplemental module integrated into current work zone training programs. This approach allows trainees to practice their skills in various scenarios, unrestricted by spatial and temporal limitations. The research team is improving the current VR platform based on participants’ feedback and expanding the applications of VR training to encompass work zone inspection, Road Safety Audits (RSA), and railway operations.
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