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CHANGING THE AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE THROUGH VIRTUAL REALITY
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by Frank Byers, MBA | PMP, President/CEO AgriSphere, USA
griSphere, LLC, industry leader in management software, training systems, and compliance programmes, recently released its new agVR virtual reality (VR) training application. agVR uses the latest mobile virtual reality technology to create interactive environments in a portable and cost-effective package. The app can be operated from smartphones and low-cost virtual reality headsets, such as units from Lenovo and Google. agVR comes standard with a typical grain elevator environment that places users in a familiar agricultural facility. The virtual facility includes a scale house with truck scale, motor control centre with controls, tool crib, bucket elevator leg with head service platform and ladder, and grain bins among other agricultural equipment or elements. AgriSphere can also custom design and build virtual reality environments for customers enabling employees to perform VR tasks within the very facility in which they work. The app is designed to provide employees with a training experience that traditional classroom training cannot provide while eliminating the hazards and logistical challenges of certain on-the-job training methods. Employees can move through the VR environment to
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perform maintenance tasks, perform lock-out/tag-out procedures and other safety activities, and complete programmatic documentation (forms, permits, etc.) without stepping foot into the facility. This helps employees identify and understand procedural requirements and process steps, as well as critical safety hazards they may encounter while working. This type of hazard-free exposure is especially important for new employees who may not have experience or familiarity with agricultural facilities or their associated hazards. Employee performance can be evaluated on critical tasks and activities by using tests, quizzes, and actionable choices that can be incorporated into each training module or script. This enables active coaching by instructors overseeing the training activities. This level of engagement between new employees and instructors/experienced employee can be difficult to achieve in real operating spaces and work areas of a facility. In the basic implementation, participants follow visual cues scattered throughout the environment. Moving from one point to another within the application is accomplished by visually staring at each checkpoint until they are transported to that location. This type of navigation is particularly efficient and allows participants to transition through the course. Certain VR headset systems include a controller (or two). Incorporating controller use allows personnel to interact with the VR environment directly, such as opening a door, lifting a panel, or using a hand-tool.