Virtual reality training applications for the mining industry

Virtual reality is a rapidly growing technology which utilises the ever-increasing power of computers to simulate real-world and imaginary environments and situations with a high degree of realism and interactiveness. Safety in the South African mining industry is a vital issue. On average, one worker dies every working day, and about 16 are injured in mine-related accidents. Inadequate or insufficient training is often cited as a root cause for many mining fatalities. However, training outside the direct working environment provides only limited real-life opportunities and may fail to make a significant impact within the tense working environment itself. Virtual reality-based training tools can, by contrast, provide simulated exposure to real-world working conditions without the associated risks. This paper discusses contextual requirements and constraints for virtual reality application development, applied to safety training in mines. The results of the contextual analysis were applied to the design and development of several prototypes of VR training systems. The paper also reports on how realism can be enhanced in simulation training systems.