I will post about what I talked about in the dialogue with the Japanese media.
Q1. Occupational accidents and natural disasters occur frequently. What challenges are companies and local governments facing? (Difficulty in establishing safety awareness and improving skills, etc.)
A1. In a company, it is not possible for everyone to maintain a serious attitude toward safety, and at the same time, it is very difficult to maintain even if the sensitivity to disasters can be improved, and there are no disasters. If it continues, the worker will soon forget the fear of the disaster. In private companies, the above-mentioned issues are often asked.
In recent years, many natural disasters beyond expectations and the first disasters including corona have occurred in local governments, and local governments cannot deal with them in cooperation with various organizations. Therefore, there is a need for means of assumptions and response training to deal with these disasters. Local governments often hear about the issues mentioned above.
At RiMM, we have expanded VR and provided products for private companies as a means to improve sensitivity. For local governments, a new product will be added that allows multiple people to simultaneously simulate and train the image of a virtual disaster using a tablet that uses a network server. This enables simulation training by simulating a virtual disaster written by the user himself. This makes it possible to train by trial and error in dealing with unexpected disasters using virtual simulation.
Q2. Please tell us about the features of “RiMM (Rim Virtual Reality Disaster Experience System)”.
A2. RiMM can intuitively convey the fear of disaster through the five senses using VR. Means that appeal directly to the five senses can convey the fear of disaster beyond the language barrier. By experiencing a disaster virtually, you can increase your sensitivity without damaging your body. In addition, a variety of disaster experience scenarios are prepared according to the field of industry. (Over 80 types, additional preparations are underway) Tactile sensation (tactile pressure, pain sensation, force sensation) and balance sensation can be reproduced at the same time according to the disaster situation, and you can work directly on your mind through the experience. This will change your awareness of danger and increase your sensitivity. Such a mechanism has not existed until now, and it has been confirmed that it has the effect of improving the quality of safety education by taking seriously the safety education that will be carried out after the disaster experience.
Q3.RiMM seems to be able to experience disasters in VR (virtual reality). Is there any actual learning effect?
A3. We have received many comments from safety personnel of companies that have adopted RiMM that the learning effect has improved and it has become easier to teach safety education that will be implemented thereafter. In addition, the repeat rate after the introduction of RiMM has already exceeded 40%, and the rate is increasing day by day. (Expansion of disaster patterns, additional purchase of equipment for multi-person support) At the beginning of the introduction, there was a tendency to introduce it only to managers in consideration of cost, but immediately after the introduction, it was decided. Has changed. At the discretion of upper management and educators, it was decided that it would be better for all employees to receive disaster experience education, and many companies, including group companies (including overseas), straddled business establishments. However, additional introduction and development are in progress. Furthermore, it is becoming clear that the synergistic effect of education can be achieved by increasing the number of people who take seriously the actual danger experience machine introduced earlier by using it in combination with RiMM.
Q4. (Related to the above) I think it is important for companies and local governments to raise their safety awareness, rather than having each user listen to them like a classroom lecture. Can RiMM meet that need?
A4.RiMM can be experienced immediately by setting the experience conditions according to the environment of the educated person and each level (difference in experience, knowledge, occupation, sensitivity). RiMM’s disaster experience education allows you to directly work on the five senses of an individual through VR, and you can feel the fear of a disaster. This can change your awareness of safety. In addition, RiMM is compatible with alcohol disinfection in consideration of hygienic operation, and education can be performed even in the environment of With Corona. (Education can be done by avoiding the three crowds by receiving individual education for each person.) In a word, there are various types of accidents such as occupational accidents, natural disasters, human accidents, and general accidents. RiMM can handle all disasters by adding disaster scenarios. Recently, there are many systems that operate with VR goggles alone, but it has been found that the tactile and parallel sensations that are important for disaster experience cannot be reproduced, and that sustained effects cannot be achieved. On the other hand, the introduction of RiMM is expensive, but the purpose can be achieved by combining the reproduction of tactile sensation and parallel sensation. I think that the cost aspect will be gradually eliminated by the progress of hardware in the future.