VR Games can Improve Knowledge Retention on Safety Education

VR is a lot more immersive today thanks to more powerful processors and computers. But just like before (in the mid 1990s), Virtual Reality headsets weren’t just used for entertainment.
Back then, people were developing virtual reality applications for marketing, medicine, education and more.

It’s no surprise that groups are looking to use it now for safety education.

I’m pretty sure that you listen to airplane safety procedures and protocols. I only listen when the stewards or stewardesses are super hot. But only then.

That may soon change. An IEEE report posted here suggests that a VR experience proved to be a better educational tool than regular safety card.

An IEEE group created a Head Mounted Display (HMD)-based immersive tool about aviation safety. But instead of the usual spectator-like experience, they created a game. Players experienced an airplane emergency water landing and they had to survive it.

You may have seen clips on it the Net recently. Here is the video.

They used an Oculus Rift Headset and Xbox Controller for this particular VR experience. What’s great about it is that you can move your head around in any direction and you can get a feel of as the plane comes in for a water landing.

The object of the game is to survive it but only if you follow safety procedures.

Afterwards, the IEEE group administered a knowledge test before and after the VR test. It proved that the VR experience resulted in better knowledge retention than a safety card.
And guess what? People who’ve used VR for safety education remember better, even after a week.

It’s possible that aviation and other industries will look into VR to further their own safety education.

And if VR headsets become inexpensive in years to come, you’ll use your HMDs to educate kids and yourself. Maybe how to survive an earthquake or a flood. Or a visit to grandma.

Smart Education for Smart Homes.