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Virtual Reality Isn’t Just a Game Changer. It’s A Business Tool.

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Video games have been used to distract, engage, educate and take individuals on journeys to reimagined worlds and realities. For years, people have been escaping to alternate realities that video games provide, but with the recent creation of virtual reality technology, companies are utilizing the power of VR to teach employees new skills. Trucking is one such industry that has begun to take advantage of this technology to transform their training programs.

Virtual Reality: an artificial environment which is experienced through sensory stimuli (such as sights and sounds) provided by a computer and in which one's actions partially determine what happens in the environment; also: the technology used to create or access a virtual reality.- Merriam-Webster Dictionary 

How Does VR Work Exactly?
 
Virtual reality is designed to help individuals experience a digitally rendered space while interacting within that space through their actions. In training employees within the trucking industry, either a variety of LCD screens can be used to display simulated visuals, or a helmet mounted display (HMD) device can be utilized instead. In some cases, the trainee may also have access to equipment that could be used to imitate the overall experience of driving on the open road, such as a steering wheel, gas pedal, shifter, and so forth. Trainees are therefore able to interact with and determine the simulated experience, based on their movements.
 
Virtual Reality and Training Go Hand-in-Hand
 
Virtual reality technology has the power to impact sectors across the board. One way in which this is being accomplished is through training programs, as it allows for trainees to learn new skills within a controlled environment. This allows for mistakes to be made with little to no repercussions, providing a safe space for individuals to develop new skills and increase competency. Not only do these training programs teach employees new skills, but it allows for companies to record data to understand an individual’s skill set, areas of the job that they may struggle in, and the opportunity to streamline employee training practices!
 
Trucking companies have recently seen the benefit of training drivers with this technology as they are capable of learning the ins and outs of driver safety. Through learning particular skills such as how to prevent rollovers, properly navigating left or right-hand turns, and how to maximize fuel economy while driving 10-speed, 13-speed or 18-speed transmissions, drivers can gain experience and knowledge before going out on the road. Additionally, they’re able to take past recorded data of accidents and errors and use this information to provide additional training when required.
 
Who’s Doing It and Why?
 
Using virtual reality to help train and encourage driver safety is gaining in popularity. Private companies, such as UPS, have begun to train new drivers by using virtual reality technology. UPS has gone as far as to create their own training modules where all drivers are asked to explain their actions as they complete them. UPS’s goal is to train over 4,000 employees by the end of 2018, and help to popularize the trucking industry as a potential career option! This could help attract more people to the industry, allowing the sector to continue to grow and support the North American economy.
 
 
A big question that many are asking, however, is…
 
Is this training effective?
 
UPS’s report of a 40% reduction in accidents, paired with positive personal testimonies of those who have undergone this training, is making it difficult to argue the positive impacts that VR technology can have in the trucking industry. As the application of VR technology in this way is still fairly new, it will be interesting to see how companies embrace VR in training employees within this sector in the coming year.