Railroad operations

This simulator is training railroad workers in all the possible scenarios under various circumstances. Scenarios can be created for various specialties and include even the hardest tasks with the latest equipment, you will not even need to buy to get the completed training certificate.

Project

Railroad operations in VR is all about the realistic environments where different skills of railroad workers can be trained. From overall spatial thinking mindset building to precise real custom tasks, technical and pleasant service training, safety instructions.
Target audience: railroad workers, technical and service staff, students.

The project was initiated by our company in partnership with a local technical university to showcase how the technology of virtual reality can be used for railroad operations and management. We have created a demo version in order to show what kind of the realism, engagement and knowledge absorption of a trainee can be achieved together with lots of savings on equipment, time and resources for trainings.

This simulator can be used to train actual railroad workers of any kind of specialty. We are able to create custom scenarios according to individual preferences of every company. Therefore, technicians, service staff, engine drivers and office staff all can gain benefits out of this training programme.

Development time: 2,5 months
Engine: Unity/Unreal
Platform: PC + HTC Vive
Setting: Nowadays
Visual style: realism
Language: multi (ENG/RU/LT)
Age: 12+
Stage: demo

01- Research

Safe from injuries and exciting modern training model

In order to know how we can improve the training process of railroad workers, we made a research on the existing training problems and the communication processes in railway companies. It appeared that having a vast amount of employees usually do not have a single and connecting platform for training, entertainment and interactive use. While we developed some possible ideas for the uniting platform, we had first started with a demo showcase as an example of what VR training can offer to a railway worker. Our research showed that not even while training, but also while performing regular tasks at work, railway workers can hurt from unexpected accidents. Of course, it is hard to avoid such type of accidents at all, but VR can drastically decrease its number to the point where there is only a small chance of possibility for an incident lead by a human factor. Otherwise, virtual reality provides all the equipment digitalized, so there is no need for extra money spend on expensive training material.

We have also researched and came up with a VR solution for realistic model integration. Using 3D scan technology we are able to make quick and qualitative 3D models and implement them in our virtual experiences, meaning that recreating an environment of a specific facility that is needed for trainings is not a big deal at all. After all the investigation was finalized, we consulted with human performance specialists to create ultimate training simulators.

02- Development

IT meets the Railways

To start with, our simulator needed a realistic environment. Therefore, we chose train rails, bridges over train tracks, additional warehouse, stations and other relevant buildings. We have modeled a depo - a huge modern warehouse facility meant for train maintenance. Afterwards two different scenarios were implemented by our design and development team to show a user-friendly way of easily switching between two tasks. All this with detailed tools' descriptions, advanced UI and original sound design compose a demo for railway workers.

03- Maintenance

Realistic avatars and training with the colleagues

With some of the latest updates we have made the simulator accessible for multiple users at the same time. Now, we have a custom solution where workers can train together and compete for the better results. All this is visible on the main statistics chart and this is the new scheme of employee promotion system implemented. As huge enterprises of railroad industry usually have a vast amount of different level employees, the platform we offer can connect all the staff in terms of entertainment, skill improvement, actual work collaboration and personal training analysis. While the platform is in the development process, we are always ready to create custom solutions for each and every request given by our clients.
Click to see the video-captured VR experience on Vimeo →