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Somerset-based college utilises VR headsets during HGV driver training

A college based in Somerset has revealed how it has been using VR technology to help train lorry drivers as part of the UK Government's Driver Bootcamp scheme.

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Weston College says the VR tech being used in its immersive training and complements existing training methods through its digital platforms.

The college states that this immersive driver training complements live driving instruction by putting the learner in the position of a passenger in an HGV or LGV.

The learner is exposed to a 360 environment through a VR headset, supported with commentary from the driving instructor who explains the process of driving the vehicle, along with graphic overlays that help the learner to visualise the correct route and technique to opt for.

According to the college, the feedback it’ has received points towards the training being a “huge hit”.

“The learners have benefitted from the ability to pause, rewind, and re-watch sessions with complete autonomy, creating a more personalised experience and deeper understanding for the content. These possibilities are much less likely to be available when driving in real time, and will provide more effective training if the learner is able to regularly revisit the areas they struggle with, creating not only more drivers, but drivers of a higher quality too,” Weston College wrote in a recent blog post.

The college claims that trainers have responded to the method well too, as they had previously been using Google Street View to highlight problem areas. It is said that the learner being fully immersed in the simulation is a “huge upgrade”.


 

Photo by Hammer & Tusk on Unsplash