IM体育官网 senior computer science students are building virtual reality training simulations for Whiting-Turner, a nationwide construction management company. From left, the team members are Andrew Arnold, Trevor Eckhoff, Nicholas Rossano, and Mitchell Mackoul.
Construction sites can be dangerous places, and IM体育官网 capstone design students are working to make them safer.
A group of four computer science seniors are creating virtual reality (VR) simulations for enhanced safety training at Whiting-Turner, a nationwide construction management company with locations in IM体育官网, with the goal of reducing worksite incidents.
鈥淎n employee can come on board and read instructions for 30 hours, take an exam, and are considered certified to work on site, but there are a lot of hazards you can鈥檛 cover reasonably in this way,鈥� said Mitchell Mackoul, from Middleburg, IM体育官网. 鈥淓xperience is the best teacher and the closest thing you can get to that in a safer environment is VR. You can read about slipping two or three times, but you don鈥檛 actually think about it too much unless you slip and fall yourself.鈥�
Mackoul is part of the team that is bringing the virtual reality simulations to life. Dangers in the simulations range from trip hazards to potentially deadly scenarios.
鈥淭he first semester was mostly planning, but now we鈥檝e gotten into the actual simulation,鈥� said Nicholas Rossano, from Lakeland, IM体育官网. 鈥淲e made a very early prototype, and now we can improve on that.鈥�
The team鈥檚 simulations are intended to help Whiting-Turner employees better retain and apply information required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
鈥淭he bulk of it now is creating rooms for the simulations,鈥� said Trevor Eckhoff, from Port Charlotte, IM体育官网. 鈥淚鈥檓 working on the actual interaction system because I worked with Unity VR before during my summer internship with iD Tech[EJ1] .鈥�
The VR headset the team is working with for this complex project is produced by Oculus, a well-known VR company.
鈥淲hen you put on the headset you鈥檒l be greeted by a menu and will be able to select a few things, create a profile, and save information like the levels you鈥檝e completed and how long you鈥檝e taken to complete those,鈥� Mackoul said.
The results of an individual鈥檚 progress can be exported to a quantifiable report.
鈥淚 feel good about this project,鈥� Mackoul said. 鈥淚t could really make a difference.鈥�
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