Business Info - issue 135

Adam Fleming businessinfomag.uk magazine 18 TRAINING Instead of staring at a whiteboard and listening to a tutor for hours on end, more and more employees are being asked to don virtual reality (VR) headsets from the likes of HTC Vive and Oculus and step into a virtual world where they can familiarise themselves with the equipment, processes and customer interactions they are likely to encounter at work. According to ABI Research, the VR training market is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 140% over the next five years, from $216 million in 2018 to $6.3 billion in 2022, as more enterprises realise the value of providing a 3D virtual environment to simulate real-world scenarios. VR should not be confused with augmented reality (AR), which , in combination with smart glasses and head-mounted cameras, adds an overlay of information to a view of the real world, enabling someone to give instructions or training to a worker as they carry out a task, such as repairing machinery. Diverse applications Early adopters of VR tend to be in industries with high-risk working environments, such as manufacturing, construction and healthcare, as it allows them safely to simulate dangerous situations. Hervé Fontaine, Vice President of Virtual Reality B2B and Business Volkswagen takes VR and AR for a spin In 2014, car manufacturer Volkswagen trialled AR, using Epson’s Moverio smart glasses to overcome the drawbacks associated with traditional training. Moverio BT-200 smart glasses were used to overlay complex content onto real-life scenarios, making it possible to relay information about the object being examined and highlight points with virtual arrows and other superimposed images without compromising the trainee's angle of view.  In 2017, Volkswagen rolled out VR technology throughout the Group, using the HTC Vive Business Edition headset and developing its own applications for production and logistics training and the creation of virtual environments for workshops. In addition to training, the technology supports collaboration, enabling employees to participate in meetings from anywhere in the world. Getting into training Early adopters of VR tend to be in industries with high- risk working environments Development at HTC Vive, points out that while VR training is especially useful for situations that would be difficult or impossible to recreate in real-life, such as teaching a train driver how to deal with a tree on the line, it has much broader applications. “Some of the examples I find most interesting are Simforhealth, who have equipped hospital simulation centres with Vive headsets; SODEXO, who have trained several thousand employees working in restaurants; Bouygues Construction, who are using VR for safety training when in the field; Orange, who are using the tech to train employees to speak in public; and Deutsche Bahn, who are training employees who work on ICE high speed trains,” he said. Valerie Riffaud Cangelosi, Epson’s Head of New Market Development EMEA, makes the same point about AR and the company’s Moverio smart glasses. “AR creates new ways to engage with colleagues, customers and the world around us and isn’t limited to just one industry or type of business. It can be used to great effect in a broad range of different sectors, from manufacturing and healthcare to education, retail and entertainment. Smart glasses with AR and head-mounted cameras can increase the efficiency of technicians, engineers and other workers in field service, maintenance, healthcare and manufacturing, to name just a few roles and sectors,” she said. Cangelosi adds that, like VR, AR offers an immersive experience that keeps trainees engaged and is more memorable and better attuned to the needs of visual learners. “Training employees with AR technology creates an immersive, interactive experience across multiple senses, which is far more effective than a typical lecture or simply reading instructions. AR offers the capability to increase the depth of the training process and enables users to learn at their own speed.With either on-screen instructions or layered graphics, users can be shown complex processes step-by-step or be given prompts and instructions on a certain task,” she said. By eliminating the need for physical training programmes and enabling 'on-the-job' training, even for remote workers, AR can also reduce the time and resources needed to train staff, CASE STUDY HTC Vive Enterprises are increasingly turning to virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to provide better, more immersive training. Tayla Ansell reports