Can training with the help of VR glasses and simulated scenarios increase occupational safety in the forest? How can safety-critical aspects of forest work be experienced and made tangible through simulation? These questions are being researched in the "FWSafeXR" research project at the AIT Center for Technology Experience together with partners from the field of forestry training, safety and health.
The potential for accidents and hazards in forestry work is high: large weights and high voltages are used, forestry machines and equipment such as the chainsaw are potentially very dangerous if used incorrectly. The statistics of the Austrian Road Safety Board (KFV) of the past five years show: About one third of all fatal accidents at work are forestry accidents. 1,900 people have to be treated in hospital every year due to forest accidents - very often these are serious injuries. With good work preparation and targeted training, occupational safety could be increased by a lot. However, work safety is often not sufficiently trained. As a result, many people have little practice and do not know how to act correctly in many situations.
Goal: Increase occupational safety and reduce accidents
The goal of the FWSafeXR project is to reduce the accident rate in forestry work through virtual training. The challenge here is to identify safety-related training content in forestry technology and simulate it in Extended Reality (XR) technology. This also includes the area of medical first aid in the forest, which is very closely interwoven with safety-relevant aspects in forestry technology. Furthermore, a gamification concept was developed to enrich the training with playful elements.
"The special advantage of XR technologies is that trainees can experience dangerous situations simulated realistically in a safe environment without having to expose themselves to real dangers," explains AIT project manager Raimund Schatz from the Center for Technology Experience. "Especially in the forestry sector, XR-based learning and experience spaces have a lot of potential because they enable playful, repeatable experiential learning. In this way, we also achieve a sustainable change in the behaviour of the forestry workers being trained in real work situations," Schatz is convinced.
Mehr Informationen:
AIT Website - Projects
AIT Press Release 6.7.2023 (in German)