The cost effective, time efficient way to travel training

Welcome, fellow travelers. In my last blog I gave a general description of what I plan to cover in this ongoing series. I spoke of the definition of travel and said that in its most basic form travel meant moving from point A to point B. In the next few editions I will stray from that general definition. I’ll be talking about virtual travel. In other words, we won’t be moving at all. Instead, we will be sitting at home using a computer and virtual reality (VR) technology to travel to various places.

Traveling is an easy thing for most people to do. Some drive, others take public transportation. They all get to where they want to be. But what if you don't have a car and can't figure out how to use a bus? Millions of people with mental disabilities just can't figure out all those trains, buses, routes, and stops. The more they try the more confused and upset they become. Many of them take part in travel training programs to help them learn.

Travel training is a difficult and time-consuming affair. Students and coaches travel back and forth over a particular train or bus route until the student learns and becomes comfortable with taking that vehicle on that route. The process often involves repeating the stages of the ride (including money exchange, seat selection, identification of destination, and departure points) over weeks and perhaps, months.

A more cost effective, time efficient way to conduct this training is through the use of VR technology. In a pilot program called “Train to Travel” conducted at the University of Dayton (Ohio) around 1995, students participated in a multi-phased computer-based travel training program.

In the first phase a course in bus riding basics was taught using a multimedia program on a Macintosh computer. The interactive multimedia portion of the Train to Travel program was a front end to the VR simulator. The administrators believed that before putting mentally challenged individuals into a virtual world, it was important that they understand some of the basic concepts of that world. Once they’d mastered the skills presented in the multimedia course, the students moved on to the virtual reality phase.

In the virtual reality phase, students used individual head mounted displays (HMDs) to interact with the virtual bus and the environment it was moving through. Through this simulation they got the look and feel of a real bus ride. The program has been deemed so successful that it has been copied by agencies around the world.

Next week we will look at where we can go through the use of virtual reality technology and how this technology can help people who are physically unable to travel.