Surface Mine Truck Safety Training Design And Implementation of a Multi-user VR Driving Simulator Yan W. Ha, Jeremy Murray, and Dr. Frederick C. Harris, Jr. Department of Computer Science, University of Nevada, Reno Abstract In the surface mine industry, particularly on maneuvering off-highway mining vehicles, the cost of workplace accidents is high, and the traditional safety training methods for drivers are costly, time consuming, and generally ineffective. The purpose of this project is to outline the motivation for and development of a virtual reality based driving simulator, which can cut costs and improve mining safety. Specifically, the project considers the use of a high level Application Programming Interface (API), with conclusions and possible future work being summarized. Introduction Accidents are a major concern in day-to-day mining operations, where they can be expensive in terms of both costs (considering the fact that a new haul truck costs over $500,000) and employee morale (industrial trucks are the second leading cause of fatality as stated in OSHA, 1995). Worker training is an effective way to prevent workplace accidents. However, the cost of attempting to provide a realistic representation of risks associated with mining vehicle operation (the size of these vehicles can be seen in Figures 1 and 2), and to demonstrate the proper techniques to manage those risks is high under traditional training methods. Virtual reality (VR) technology based training tools have proven to be an excellent approach to reducing both accidents and the high cost of training. It becomes our implementation approach, as it provides an opportunity for our simulator to be flexible and realistic. Goals The goals of this research project are three-fold: 1.to implement a mining vehicle driving simulator with a realistic physics model, including mechanical properties (e.g., acceleration, gear- shift, lateral force, etc.) and environmental effects (e.g., different weather conditions) 2.to enhance the driving simulator in distributed architecture and thus multi-user and 3.to utilize a steering wheel for maneuvering inside the 3D scene. Fig 2. Physical size comparison of human and mining truck The Torque Engine Normally, using a low level API to develop graphically intensive software would require a substantial amount of effort. To simplify the development, we choose to utilize the Torque Engine, which emphasizes more on user interaction and scene management rather than drawing objects. The Torque Engine was developed in order to implement the first-person action game Tribes 2. The engine consists of about 500,000 lines of code, which is written in C++ and Assembly language, and provides developers with networking (UDP and TCP) capability. One thing that helped us in our development was the C++ like scripting language provided in the engine that handles interior design and object creation. Thus, by importing object models in an appropriate format (i.e., dts, dif), we can build our driving simulator much more rapidly than would have been possible otherwise. What We Have Done We have successfully done several things this summer in our research. 1.Converted an open-pit mine layout file from AutoCAD to dif format and incorporated it to the engine. This is shown in Figure 3. 2.Taken mining truck models from 3D Studio max format and converted them into a format our program can use. One such vehicle is shown in Figure 4. 3.We then modified the source code for making driving with a steering wheel possible. Figure 5 shows one of the steering wheels we used. 4.We tested networking of two drivers in the same simulation. Conclusions Although virtual reality simulators are not new, employing such simulators to reduce training costs and reduce accident rates is relatively new to the mining industry. Our experience in utilizing the Torque Engine to create a realistic mining vehicle simulator has proven such approach is feasible. With future improvements, it is reasonable to imagine such a simulator can train new hires in the correct and safe operation of mining vehicles effectively. Future Work To display a reasonably detailed dashboard at the bottom of the screen. e.g., speedometer, gearing indicator, etc. To import more mining vehicles and open-pit mine models into the simulator - for more variations throughout the training To provide a better networked simulation - for better interactivity between trainees on the same scene simultaneously To create a better physics model for the imported vehicles. e.g., user-controllable gearing shift To provide score-keeping capability. e.g., generate a file indicating the number of times the user violates safety rules and a corresponding performance score To incorporate a variety of hazards inside the simulator - for a more realistic training experience And many other ideas too numerous to mention. Acknowledgements We would like to thank NSF-EPSCoR and NIH- BRIN for their financial support. Fig 1. Physical size comparison of mining truck and a Suburban Information For more information about this and other VR projects, please visit our web page at: Fig 5. Driving with a steering wheel inside the 3D sceneFig 4. Example of a mining truck model for our program Fig 3. open-pit mine layout