Abstract
Coal mining, regarded as a high-risk industry, has a strong demand for virtual reality (VR) to fulfill safety and emergency rescue training. In the past ten years, VR technology has significantly improved miner training on both the hardware and software side. However, it still has some drawbacks, such as expensive and unsuitable hardware, lack of satisfactory user experience, without direct browser access, and lack of humanized and intelligent design. To solve these problems, a cloud-based VR system is designed for the training of coal miners in this paper. The system, with browser/client architecture, includes eight modules demonstrating the full procedure of an underground coal mine. The online cloud-rendered video streaming is adopted to provide enough computing and rendering power and hence a better browser-based user experience. Furthermore, game artificial intelligence (AI) is also introduced into the system to increase the emotional exchange between the system and users. Unlike traditional VR training software, this system designs two virtual miners to enhance the experience of trainees. The first virtual miner is a task-oriented non-player-character (NPC) which conveys general knowledge about the mine and guides the users in visiting the underground work sites. The second virtual miner is a disaster-oriented character which prepares the users for typical disasters. The system has been successfully implemented in a laboratory environment, and its performance has been validated. Yet, further practices are needed to stimulate more innovative applications of VR-based miner training and disaster drilling.
Highlights
Coal mines, with dangerous working environments and complex production systems, have a strong demand for virtual reality (VR)
VR technology has its unique advantages in several fields related to coal mining, such as miner safety training and emergency rescue drilling, besides drifting-producing process simulation, disaster scenario simulation, and mechanical operation training [1]. e fifthgeneration (5G) cellular, artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, Internet of ings (IoT), and cloud computing will provide the information infrastructure required for the intelligent mine construction in the three to five years
E browser/client architecture of cloud rendering means that each user connects to the server and accesses 3D streaming over the cloud. e cloud servers handle all events and the state of the virtual world and transfer the VR render streaming to the client. ese servers can be virtual servers or server clusters. ey take full advantage of virtually infinite computing power to create, capture, and compress highresolution rendered streaming, which is sent to the client with low performance and limited computing power [11]
Summary
With dangerous working environments and complex production systems, have a strong demand for virtual reality (VR). E fifthgeneration (5G) cellular, artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, Internet of ings (IoT), and cloud computing will provide the information infrastructure required for the intelligent mine construction in the three to five years. With these emerging technologies, the next-generation VR systems for underground coal mining will be achieved, which will improve the professional adaptation process and occupational health and safety situation, especially for the young miners [2]. In China, universities, large mining companies, and local governments utilize the VR hardware and software for safety and emergency rescue training [7]. The 3D visualization system is very popular in coal mines with the functions of the 3D geological model, ventilation simulation, real-time data monitoring, and emergency response
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