Using Virtual Reality for Training Maintenance Procedures

In light of rapid technology advances and budget declines, the Navy is exploring innovative training solutions though initiatives such as Sailor 2025 and High Velocity Learning, which call for more hands-on, learner-centric training. Consistent with these initiatives, virtual reality (VR) offers a low-cost alternative to traditional methods of training by offering Sailors interactive and immersive 3-D simulation environments to train critical skills. Indeed, theoretical research predicts that such immersive training will result in better learning outcomes for training a procedural task than traditional computer-based training, yet there are few systematic experiments examining how and why VR may be effective for training. We conducted an experiment to: 1) test whether VR is as effective for training a military-based task as desktop-based training, and 2) compare two different input methods for interacting within the VR environment. Eighty-three participants were trained on maintenance procedures for the E-28 arresting gear, a system that hooks aircraft and rapidly decelerates them as they land. Participants were assigned randomly to one of three training conditions: Desktop-based simulation, Gesture-based VR, or Voice-based VR. A written recall test served as our measure of learning outcome. We analyzed the errors that trainees made during training and found differences between the conditions that suggest that Desktop training may be less efficient than VR training: The Desktop group committed more procedure-based errors, while the VR-Gesture group committed more gesturerelated errors (indicating they understood the procedure but had issues with using the system). This experiment addresses a critical gap in VR research by examining characteristics that may contribute to VR training optimization. Furthermore, these results demonstrate the potential of VR to provide ready, relevant training to the Fleet.