CONSTRUCTION SAFETY RESEARCH IN VIRTUAL REALITY (VR)
Immersive VR Training that Saves Lives in City Construction Work
The summer of 2021, I worked at NYU Tandon's Building Informatics and Visualization Lab (BiLab) conducting research on construction worker safety using virtual reality technology. I coded user interactions for the research project in Unity (C#) software on an HTC Vive headset.
The Problem
Workers faced safety hazards during on-site training. Manuals and in-person drills weren’t enough to prepare them for real-world risks.
Project Context
​Role: VR Interaction Designer​
Tools: Unity, C#, HTC Vive Headset
​​​Team: Transportation researchers, software engineers​
Tools: Unity, C#, HTC Vive Headset
The Process
1. Mapping Scenarios
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Interviewed construction workers to identify types of labor required on the job.
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Built decision-tree logic to replicate real hazards and consequences.
2. Building the Prototype
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Developed interactive VR scenes with trigger-based events by modifying the grabber function.
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Added visual and audio cues to signal hazards.
3. Testing & Refinement
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Ran usability tests with trainees.
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Adjusted pacing, instructions, and complexity based on completion rates.
The Outcome
