Miami University Launches XR Safety Training Powered by AI with $1.5M State Grant

• Miami University received $1.5 million from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to develop immersive safety training for manufacturing workers.
• The SIGHT initiative combines AI, virtual reality, and augmented reality to deliver personalized and accessible hazard simulations and real-time coaching.

Miami University has secured a $1.5 million Workforce Safety Innovation Center grant to launch the Safety Immersion and Gamified Hazard Training (SIGHT) for Industry 5.0 Workers. The program is a collaboration between the Farmer School of Business and the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce and Innovation Hub, aiming to cut workplace injuries across Ohio’s manufacturing sector through XR technologies.

SIGHT delivers safety training through two integrated programs: a virtual reality platform that uses generative AI to create personalized hazard simulations based on each worker’s environment, and an augmented reality coaching system that uses sensor data to provide real-time safety and productivity feedback. The VR system runs in a web browser without requiring specialized equipment, and both platforms use natural language interfaces to support multilingual, hard-of-hearing, or low-vision users.

By replacing static training with dynamic, on-demand modules, SIGHT aims to address the limitations of conventional methods. Faculty from Miami University and industry collaborators, including MaxByte Technologies and MeetKai, Inc., are contributing to the development of the training platforms, which are expected to expand beyond Ohio by 2028.

🌀 Tom’s Take:

The combination of AI and XR offers a powerful way to deliver training that is both immersive and personalized. By using sensors to monitor the user and generative AI to adapt content in real-time, the system can adjust to individual needs, maximizing engagement and learning outcomes.

Source: Miami University