Virtual Reality Training Applications in Industry - Towards a User-friendly Application Design

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to aggregate and discuss the validity of challenges and design guidelines regarding industrial Virtual Reality (VR) training applications. Although VR has seen significant advancements in the last 20 years, the technology still faces multiple research challenges. The challenges towards industrial VR applications are imposed by a limited technological maturity and the need to achieve industrial stakeholders' technology acceptance. Technology acceptance is closely connected with the consideration of individual user requirements for user interfaces in virtual environments. This paper analyses the current state-of-the-art in industrial VR applications and provides a structured overview of the existing challenges and applicable guidelines for user interface design, such as ISO 9241-110. The validity of the identified challenges and guidelines is discussed against an industrial training scenario on electrical safety during maintenance tasks.