SafetyTech News | 022

SafetyTech News | Issue 022

Wow! Its October already and the final run toward 2023. Let's kick off Issue 022 of SafetyTech News with a section on virtual reality (sorry not sorry) and the biggest news for me of the week was the release of the latest in the Lenovo ThinkReality enterprise XR portfolio... introducing the Lenovo ThinkReality VRX.

Lenovo ThinkReality VRX | Product Announcement

The cat is officially, finally, out of the bag. Disclaimer: for transparency, I am an employee of the Lenovo ThinkReality team and this has been in the works for a long while now. It's been quite a journey watching the product unfold in the lead up to announcement... and here it is. Check out the vid and the launch web-page. You can of course ping me for more info.

Safer with XR: Implementing Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in Manufacturing and Corporate Operations

Scott Burkey, one 1/2 of the XR at Work podcast is teaming up with Lee Barnes from FreeRangeXR for a webinar on 27 October (2pm ET). They'll be chatting about XR with a focus on safety. That sounds pretty #safetytech to me... Register here

and check out the XR at Work podcast here

Liminal VR x WorkSafe Victoria | Positive Leadership

Friends of STN, Liminal VR have a fabulous opportunity for Victorian-based organisations to pilot their latest immersive training initiative. Key information in the link below the video.

Co-developed by Liminal VR and its project partners (Deakin University, Youth Affairs Council Victoria and YLab) and funded by WorkSafe’s WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund, our latest pilot is the Positive Leadership Training Suite (PLTS).

The PLTS is a revolutionary virtual reality program that offers managers and leaders the opportunity to develop positive leadership and communication skills by interacting with virtual reality avatars across common workplace scenarios. This innovative program will help managers in the prevention of injury and illness of young workers.

Get more info here:

CORTEXR | XR Data Analytics Tool

Speaking on XR training... how do you measure the effectiveness in this ever-changing immersive medium? CORETXR are providing some answers with their latest analytics tool.

The new tool leverages cognitive science and artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor six degrees of freedom (6DoF) behaviours and movements such as attention, immersion, and navigation in virtual spaces.

The article provides a great summary of the research on XR metrics conducted by Gorilla in the Room. Safety training professionals should get up to speed quickly on this new approach to measuring learning outcomes with immersive experiences. For those attending the October edition of Next Worlder (IYKYK) I'll be speaking on this topic; I'm happy to share my presentation to those who have FOMO.

Lastly on VR & VR training... here is Roni Cerga from VR Vision providing the first of what appears to be a new XR education video series. Nice work Roni!

Top 10 tips on how to deploy corporate VR training in 2022 | Roni Cerga - VR Vision

Actually one last thing on XR...

National XR month resolution codifies XR use cases

So this is pretty cool... H.RES.1399 presented to the US House of Representatives (117th Congress Session)... its primarily about pitching for a National XR Month BUT its the underlying pitch that is quite compelling.

• Whereas “XR” is an umbrella term used to describe immersive technologies, including augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, and other technologies not yet invented, that enable the integration of digital content and the physical environment in a manner that supports user engagement;
• Whereas XR is a critical part of the emerging technology ecosystem that includes artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, quantum computing, and advanced communications;
• Whereas the House of Representatives and the Senate have passed legislation designating immersive technology as a “key technology focus area” for United States research and development prioritization;
• Whereas XR is expected to be the next major computing platform, succeeding the laptop and smartphone and forming the foundation for the next iteration of the internet;
• Whereas XR will impact all sectors of society, creating new employment opportunities, a new economy, and new ways of communicating, learning, and engaging with the world;
• Whereas an estimated 23,000,000 jobs globally will use XR technology by 2030;
• Whereas the market for immersive technologies is projected to reach over $450,000,000,000 by 2030;

The document then goes on to codify several XR use cases for different industry sectors and challenges... Its worth a read if you are exploring XR and are still unsure about use case value in your industry or area of interest.

and because I just love reading policy & legislation documents here's another interesting development... a blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.

This is a direct ctrlX ctrlV from Dr. Louis Rosenberg's LinkedIn post

Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights

President Biden just unveiled a new AI Bill of Rights:

1. You should be protected from unsafe or ineffective systems
2. You should not face discrimination by algorithms and systems should be used and designed in an equitable way.
3. You should be protected from abusive data practices via built-in protections and you should have agency over how data about you is used.
4. You should know that an automated system is being used and understand how and why it contributes to outcomes that impact you.
5. You should be able to opt out, where appropriate, and have access to a person who can quickly consider and remedy problems you encounter.

This framework applies to (1) automated systems that (2) have the potential to meaningfully impact the American public’s rights, opportunities, or access to critical resources or services.

I'd add (3) this is SUPER important for the global community to get a pulse check on and start contributing in meaningful ways. From a #safetytech perspective - AI will be used for almost everything we do in some form or another in the tech-enabled future of work.

More here:

While we are on the topic of AI...

Saifety.Ai | New Website Launch

Our friends over at Saifety.ai have revamped their web-presence; go check them out.

Saifety.ai is an AI-enabled Safety Management Platform for the construction industry. We utilise Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technology to streamline the data capture, analysis and distribution of information to make it the foremost construction safety software

There have been a couple of sneaky #safetytech product releases emerge over the last month; both in pre-launch phase.

Hiviz by Forge Works

David Provan and the team at Forge Works ; the company behind Safety Futures and The Safety of Work podcast have developed a game-changer; and not in the cliché sense - literally this will change the game for safety professionals.

Hiviz is the technology enabler for:

The?new generation?of safety management and organisational resilience.

I'm super excited to see this solution evolve - you can stay up to date and register your interest here:

DG_AI | Dangerous Goods Compliance. Automated

Another great addition to the #safetytech game is also in the works. DG_AI a solution to support the automation of dangerous goods compliance. The team is working hard on their solution but the web page is up and you can subscribe to the mailing list to keep up to date. I'll be sure to keep you in the loop regarding early access and official launch.

Facilitate | Creator License for VR Content Creators | Webinar

Facilitate are hosting an information session regarding their new Creator License offering.

This information session is aimed at e-learning studios, creative agencies, L&D departments and freelance creators. Anyone who wants to create VR learning content without software developers. We'll explain what Facilitate is and what it can offer you. We'll also outline our new Content Partner Program; a comprehensive program that takes you from the current state to creating and monetising VR learning content.

If you have a new product or feature you'd like showcased on SafetyTech News drop a line to [email protected]

Drone technology used to inspect Scotland's sewers

Its always great to see a use case explaining the benefits of technology for safety and this one is clearly a winner.

Drones have been put into sewers elsewhere with limited capabilities and limited success. But the specific adaptation of both drone and the 3D LiDAR modelling is what makes this special.

This solution saves 12 people working on a confined space entry task who can be deployed to work on other tasks and is a phenomenal example of #safetytech improving the design, experience and safety of work.

Dream Job Anyone? AWS are hiring for this awesome opportunity...

Design for Safety Lab Manager | AWS Health & Safety Team

If you are the lucky punter who lands this as their next gig: drop me a line once you're 6 months in; I'd love to learn about/from your experience!

Thanks for reading this far... before I go I'm seeking expressions of interest from SafetyTech companies who are interested in being interviewed about their solutions. I have two asks:

1) Who are the best #safetytech solutions on the market that should be celebrated and showcased to the world? Send me a LinkedIn DM or an email (see below)

2) If you are a #safetytech vendor keen to do a showcase interview (no cost, no catch) drop me a line at [email protected] and lets chat

That's a wrap for this issue; catch you in a couple of weeks. But for now...

Be Safe & Stay Curious.

Cameron Stevens is a technologist & chartered safety professional, most comfortable exploring digital transformation and the intersection where safety & technology meet. Cameron is an industrial XR specialist at Lenovo deploying augmented & virtual reality for enterprise & volunteers on ISO Standards Committees for Artificial Intelligence, AR & Virtual Reality.

Cameron enjoys coaching individuals & teams to improve the design & experience of work with responsible innovation & emerging technologies.

[email protected]