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Transforming rail safety
The metaverse is not just for gaming. Digital worlds are being developed for many other areas of our lives too.
Virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is an extended reality (XR) technology that places learners in a simulated reality. Through a VR headset, learners enter a virtual world. They can look around themselves, walk up to computer-generated objects, and interact with items and people.
KiwiRail are now using VR to support their technical and safety training. Learners in this digital environment face real-life scenarios that test their knowledge and technical skills. It’s an engaging, realistic way to learn without facing real-world risk.
How did KiwiRail develop this learning technology?
Digital shields
Digital shields are an invisible defence system. They are used to help protect rail workers, overhead power lines, trains, and passengers. They also allow work next to the railway to continue without disrupting the train service.
The shields are made by creating a virtual twin of the physical environment. A laser scanner collects millions of points of data. The data points are used to build a three-dimensional (3D) digital model. These models allow KiwiRail to create digital shields a set distance from the position of the real-world objects.
Once a shield is created, it is sent to a computer onboard the excavator that is linked to a GPS unit. The system on the excavator knows where the machine is, what shape it is, and where the shield is.
If the excavator touches the digital shield, a signal is sent to the excavator and the controls are locked. This stops the machine getting too close to the real-world hazard.
Gamification
Gaming doesn’t just have to be for having fun with friends. The same software that developers use to create games like Fortnite can also be used to plan construction work and keep people safe around trains.
Engineers combine 3D models of their designs with drone images inside a game. Workers can then drop in construction equipment and materials to plan what they are going to do before they get to the work site.
The game has tools allowing users to draw new roads and railways. It even lets them show cars and trains moving along them to simulate the real world. Users can use the same tools to draw in 3D fences, barriers, or traffic cones to work out the best way to stay safe once they get to site.
Try the Transforming rail safety quiz