The Fifth International Symposium on Mine Safety Science and Engineering (ISMSSE2021)

120 / 2021-09-30 20:31:08

SENSE VR - creating complex training scenarios for virtual reality

Virtual reality,Training,mine safety

The presented works include research aimed at creating a method of developing training scenarios carried out with the use of virtual reality, and having a direct impact on increasing work safety in underground coal mines. The research is carried out with the use of a VR application, under which training will be conducted, based on three different training scenarios. The target group of the training will be employees of hard coal mines, including: new employees and people performing particularly dangerous work.



Effective use of VR technology requires a methodical and conscious approach and the selection of appropriate content that forms the basis of the training. This issue becomes particularly important when the main goal of the training is to improve the work safety of people working under stress, caused by difficult working conditions, emergency situations, when improper operation or failure to act may lead to catastrophic consequences. VR technology enables the use of complex training scenarios that are difficult to implement in real conditions. These are scenarios with many potential training paths and different scenes that lead to independent endings. The main research problem is the way of arranging complex training scenarios for miners on the basis of reports on mining accidents, taking into account the characteristics of the target group, and in particular the diversified level of digital competences and participants' perception.



It will be especially important to create scenarios in such a way, as to be able to achieve the highest possible level of immersion in the training, by realistically reproducing the work environment, creating events that are close to the actual situations that participants may encounter. This should increase the realism of the situation and simulate the pressure on the participant. The aim of these activities is to artificially create a stressful situation so as to force the participant's body to act in a similar way to the state it is in, at the time of a real accident, or other dangerous event that threatens health or life.



The developed method will include a set of good practices to be used in cooperation with VR application programmers. This aspect is important from the point of view of developing a special interface that will allow people from outside the IT industry to develop complex training scenarios that are understandable to programmers. Thanks to this, programming work will be minimized, at the same time allowing to take into account as much substantive content as possible, which will allow for effective training that should improve work safety in mines.