Video games and virtual reality are combining to make government jobs safer

"Most job-related safety training is pretty basic and involves either listening to a presentation about where the emergency exits are located or learning basic life-saving techniques, like how to "stop, drop and roll," should you somehow happen to catch on fire while walking around the office. Many of us don't need very advanced training because our workplaces are thankfully located in relatively safe environments."

"But safe office spaces are not always part of the standard fare for a few brave government workers. There are feds who inspect construction sites for safety, respond to hazardous material spills or who perform other dangerous duties where the risk to life and limb is much greater than getting a nasty papercut. For them, even on-the-job training is difficult to obtain, since that often requires recreating hazardous conditions."

"But now, some federal agencies are turning to an innovative technology to help out: video games. We've covered video games in federal service before, although using them for serious work is rather rare in government. However, when you combine a video game's ability to simulate almost any environment with another technology that helps to transport people into the game, it creates a powerful tool for both entertainment and critical training exercises. You just need to add a good virtual reality headset."

"Nextgov/FCW was covering them and their applications over six years ago in places like NASA, research laboratories and even the E3 Expo video game trade show. The biggest drawbacks for training with them were the fact that they were kind of bulky to wear and often lacked the kind of graphical horsepower needed to simulate realistic environments."

Most job-related safety training is basic, covering emergency exits and simple life-saving techniques, suitable for relatively safe workplaces. Some federal workers face much greater hazards inspecting construction sites, responding to hazardous material spills, and performing other dangerous duties, making on-the-job training difficult because recreating hazardous conditions is often impractical. Some federal agencies are adopting video games combined with virtual reality headsets to simulate realistic environments and transport trainees into immersive scenarios. Virtual reality headsets have existed for years but previously faced limitations such as bulkiness and insufficient graphical horsepower, sometimes requiring tethered or high-speed wireless connections.

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