Roadside Construction Safety Training Project with Unity VR

June 1, 2022

Overview

In this project, I developed a Virtual Reality construction worker safety training platform using Unity for the University of South Florida's Rehabilitation, Robotics and Prosthetics Lab. The goal was to create an immersive training environment that would allow construction workers to practice safety protocols in realistic scenarios without the risks associated with real construction sites. This VR solution provides hands-on experience with safety procedures, hazard identification, and emergency response protocols in a controlled virtual environment.

Key Features

Learned Unity from scratch: Mastered Unity's VR development tools and best practices during the internship
Hardware upgrade advocacy: Successfully convinced advisors to upgrade from the outdated HTC Vive (2016) to the more advanced Quest 2 for better user experience
Comprehensive documentation: Created detailed documentation and tutorial videos for coworkers and advisors to ensure project continuity and knowledge transfer
Immersive safety scenarios: Developed realistic construction site environments with interactive safety challenges
Real-time hazard detection: Implemented systems for identifying and responding to virtual construction hazards

Technologies Used

Unity VR: Primary development platform for creating immersive virtual reality experiences
Adobe Mixamo: Character animations and 3D models for realistic worker avatars
Meta Quest 2: Target VR hardware platform for deployment and testing
C# Scripting: Core programming language for Unity VR interactions and logic

Challenges and Learnings

One of the biggest challenges was learning Unity's VR development framework from scratch while maintaining project deadlines. This involved understanding VR interaction systems, optimizing performance for mobile VR hardware, and creating intuitive user interfaces in 3D space. Additionally, advocating for hardware upgrades required researching and presenting compelling arguments about the technical advantages of newer VR equipment. Creating comprehensive documentation while learning ensured knowledge transfer and project sustainability.

Outcome

The VR construction safety training platform successfully demonstrated the potential for immersive safety education in high-risk industries. The project provided a foundation for future VR training applications at USF's lab and showcased how virtual reality can make dangerous training scenarios safe and accessible. The documentation and tutorials I created enabled the research team to continue development and iterate on the platform beyond my internship period.