ABSTRACT
Construction is one of the most dangerous industries for people on jobsites all around the world. In response, safety training has been employed to address safety hazards proactively. However, training that utilizes traditional media (e.g., texts, images, videos) is ineffective due to its passiveness. Virtual reality (VR) –based safety training can address this challenge by offering active, hands-on learning experiences. Yet hazard representation limitations and technical development challenges of computer-generated VR have hindered their ability to become widespread training methods. One emerging alternative to common VR is 360-degree virtual reality (360VR), which relies on 360-degree panoramic captures of reality, significantly increasing realism and reducing VR modelling requirements. This chapter introduces a road map of the technologies that support 360VR reality capturing, visualization, and interaction at the frontier of safety training applications. Three case studies were selected to illustrate how 360VR is applied within the safety training context. The findings of the chapter highlight how 360VR delivers significant sense-of-presence benefits to trainees while producing similar learning outcomes as traditional training. Moreover, the case studies demonstrate several approaches available to provide safety content using 360VR materials.
