Workplace Safety Training Using Visual-Simultaneous-Localization-and-Mapping-Based Mobile Augmented Reality

Workplace safety training is the cornerstone of workplace safety and accident prevention. In the case of frequently rotating employees, such as in the laboratories of higher education institutions, where students are required to perform tasks as part of their education, a considerable amount of effo...

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Main Authors: Heinrich Söbke, Tobias Friedel, Florian Wehking, Thomas Haupt, Jens Wiggenbrock
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Digital
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6470/5/1/8
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author Heinrich Söbke
Tobias Friedel
Florian Wehking
Thomas Haupt
Jens Wiggenbrock
author_facet Heinrich Söbke
Tobias Friedel
Florian Wehking
Thomas Haupt
Jens Wiggenbrock
author_sort Heinrich Söbke
collection DOAJ
description Workplace safety training is the cornerstone of workplace safety and accident prevention. In the case of frequently rotating employees, such as in the laboratories of higher education institutions, where students are required to perform tasks as part of their education, a considerable amount of effort for workplace safety training is demanded from the supervising instructors. Accordingly, the use of self-guided workplace safety training may lead to significant savings in the workload for instructors. In this evaluation study, we investigated to what extent an augmented reality (AR) app is deemed suitable for workplace safety training. The prototypical augmented reality (AR) app is based on an AR platform that performs tracking based on visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (vSLAM, Google Tango). The workplace safety training was carried out for two common stations and two devices in a workshop of an environmental engineering laboratory at a higher education institution. A total of 12 participants took part in the mixed-method study. Standardized questionnaires were used to assess usability, cognitive load and the learner prerequisites of motivation and emotion. Qualitative results were collected through subsequent semi-structured interviews. The app was able to achieve good usability, and the values for cognitive load can be classified as conducive to learning, as can the values for the learning prerequisites of motivation and emotion. The interviews provided insights into strengths, but also into potential improvements to the app. The study proved that using vSLAM-based AR apps for workplace safety training is a viable approach. However, for further efforts to establish AR-app-based workplace safety training, these insights need to be ported to a new AR platform, as the platform used has since been discontinued.
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spelling doaj-art-2c4a8b8f78c24779b2f91e25a56e4d352025-08-20T03:43:02ZengMDPI AGDigital2673-64702025-03-0151810.3390/digital5010008Workplace Safety Training Using Visual-Simultaneous-Localization-and-Mapping-Based Mobile Augmented RealityHeinrich Söbke0Tobias Friedel1Florian Wehking2Thomas Haupt3Jens Wiggenbrock4Bauhaus-Institute for Infrastructure Solutions (b.is), Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, 99423 Weimar, GermanyBauhaus-Institute for Infrastructure Solutions (b.is), Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, 99423 Weimar, GermanyBauhaus-Institute for Infrastructure Solutions (b.is), Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, 99423 Weimar, GermanyBauhaus-Institute for Infrastructure Solutions (b.is), Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, 99423 Weimar, GermanyDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, Hochschule Weserbergland, 31785 Hameln, GermanyWorkplace safety training is the cornerstone of workplace safety and accident prevention. In the case of frequently rotating employees, such as in the laboratories of higher education institutions, where students are required to perform tasks as part of their education, a considerable amount of effort for workplace safety training is demanded from the supervising instructors. Accordingly, the use of self-guided workplace safety training may lead to significant savings in the workload for instructors. In this evaluation study, we investigated to what extent an augmented reality (AR) app is deemed suitable for workplace safety training. The prototypical augmented reality (AR) app is based on an AR platform that performs tracking based on visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (vSLAM, Google Tango). The workplace safety training was carried out for two common stations and two devices in a workshop of an environmental engineering laboratory at a higher education institution. A total of 12 participants took part in the mixed-method study. Standardized questionnaires were used to assess usability, cognitive load and the learner prerequisites of motivation and emotion. Qualitative results were collected through subsequent semi-structured interviews. The app was able to achieve good usability, and the values for cognitive load can be classified as conducive to learning, as can the values for the learning prerequisites of motivation and emotion. The interviews provided insights into strengths, but also into potential improvements to the app. The study proved that using vSLAM-based AR apps for workplace safety training is a viable approach. However, for further efforts to establish AR-app-based workplace safety training, these insights need to be ported to a new AR platform, as the platform used has since been discontinued.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6470/5/1/8self-guided instructionself-regulated learningGoogle Tangodepth perceptionarea learninglearner prerequisites
spellingShingle Heinrich Söbke
Tobias Friedel
Florian Wehking
Thomas Haupt
Jens Wiggenbrock
Workplace Safety Training Using Visual-Simultaneous-Localization-and-Mapping-Based Mobile Augmented Reality
Digital
self-guided instruction
self-regulated learning
Google Tango
depth perception
area learning
learner prerequisites
title Workplace Safety Training Using Visual-Simultaneous-Localization-and-Mapping-Based Mobile Augmented Reality
title_full Workplace Safety Training Using Visual-Simultaneous-Localization-and-Mapping-Based Mobile Augmented Reality
title_fullStr Workplace Safety Training Using Visual-Simultaneous-Localization-and-Mapping-Based Mobile Augmented Reality
title_full_unstemmed Workplace Safety Training Using Visual-Simultaneous-Localization-and-Mapping-Based Mobile Augmented Reality
title_short Workplace Safety Training Using Visual-Simultaneous-Localization-and-Mapping-Based Mobile Augmented Reality
title_sort workplace safety training using visual simultaneous localization and mapping based mobile augmented reality
topic self-guided instruction
self-regulated learning
Google Tango
depth perception
area learning
learner prerequisites
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6470/5/1/8
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