Technological equipment control system using virtual reality devices

The article describes the developed technology of remote parameter monitoring and equipment control using virtual reality. The advantages of this technology and the VR devices have been considered in relation to the conventional way to visualize technological information of the SCADA systems on the screens. A SCADA prototype was developed based on a 3D interface displayed by means of a VR headset for operator to interact with the virtual objects. Scaled operating models of the mechanized roof support sections as part of the longwall system with servo-drives that ensure thrust and unloading of the section were used as technological equipment. The virtual control interface both reproduces the control objects and displays their response to the control inputs in an interactive mode. The paper presents a block diagram of the algorithm that features interaction between the interactive virtual objects and the physical models; a structural diagram of the software data exchange between the virtual reality and the physical objects, the front control panel on the operator's PC screen and the control interface from the virtual environment. The technology of process equipment control described in the article and based on displaying a 3D visualization of the SCADA interface allowed to change the level of operator's "immersion" into the workflow, enhancing concentration on the controlled parameters.