VR Training and Haptics to Boost Railway Operational Safety

2024/06/07 Innoverview Read

Recently, HaptX partnered with immersive learning solutions provider RoundTable Learning to deploy VR training to railway workers. The partners are working with BNSF to provide railway engineers with an immersive step-by-step training platform to improve engineer safety.

Recently, HaptX partnered with immersive learning solutions provider RoundTable Learning to deploy VR training to railway workers. The partners are working with BNSF to provide railway engineers with an immersive step-by-step training platform to improve engineer safety. 

BNSF will regularly leverage VR as part of its 2024 safety and technical training initiative. The VR program will leverage Roundtable Learning’s virtual learning spaces and assets, while HaptX will provide its touch-based feedback solution to the training programme.  

Following a current trend of railway companies leveraging immersive training solutions, BNSF looks to join other forward-thinking firms leveraging XR to upskill the sector’s workers.  

BNSF is leveraging Roundtable Learning’s Mechanical GEVO Tier IV course to teach managers a step-by-step simulation that guides them through the T4 engineer’s troubleshooting and repair. 

With added HaptX Gloves G1 integration, BNSF aims to provide workers with a multi-sensory learning experience that enhances traditional learning methods and improves operational awareness and effectiveness.  

BNSF seeks to leverage XR solutions to improve safety and present real-world accidents and injuries. With a pilot programme currently underway, BNSF is planning a full-scale rollout of the technology during the rest of 2024

More from HaptX

HaptX was awarded a Phase 1 Small Business Technology Transfer program grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and National Eye Institute earlier this year. The grant aims to advance research using haptic solutions to create accessible XR applications for visually impaired individuals.

HaptX collaborates with Old Dominion University (ODU) and Georgia Institute of Technology on this research initiative. Both universities are also receiving investments from the funding round. HaptX is contributing its microfluidic actuation haptics technology to the research, enabling precise rendering of virtual braille content at the fingertips.

The broader research team will utilize this haptic technology and its software algorithms to provide touch-based feedback for mapping braille virtual content. The research team believes this work has implications that extend beyond visually impaired groups and can be applied in work environments.

More on RoundTable Learning

Roundtable Learning, a VR training solution for enterprise end-users, has announced its participation in Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.’s Snapdragon Spaces Pathfinder Program to help promote Lenovo’s ThinkReality VRX headset as a leading workplace tool.

As part of this partnership, Roundtable Learning will join the Pathfinder Program with its portfolio of Fortune 100 businesses. The firm is prepared to utilize Lenovo’s upcoming immersive device to develop solutions that will shape the future of work and learning.

In addition to using Lenovo’s ThinkReality VRX device, the partnership also grants Roundtable Learning access to Snapdragon Spaces’ open ecosystem, which supports VR/AR/MR software development and distribution while showcasing real-world XR use cases.

(Copyright: XR Today VR Training and Haptics to Boost Railway Operational Safety - XR Today)