Augmented Reality-Based Training Systems for Teaching Health and Safety Procedures in Construction

Traditional teaching methods are not always efficient, especially in areas where the concepts to teach relate to physical work that must be done outside the classroom. This is the case of the construction sector, where the teaching of safety procedures is crucial to reduce the number of accidents, but traditional methods fail to highlight the importance of these procedures. The use of computer simulation through new technologies such as augmented reality (AR) can engage more students in order to better understand the concepts. In addition, they can visualize virtual elements superimposed on the real world to simulate the real situations they will later face in construction. This chapter deals with the simulation, by means of AR technology, of teaching procedures in the construction sector. It presents ARFAT, an application for mobile devices that makes use of AR to teach health and safety procedures about three elements: formwork, scaffolds, and falsework.