Inverell’s older generation is invited to get their hands on cutting edge virtual reality (VR) technology and meet Australia’s leading VR lab team from Deakin University next week.
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The university is visiting the Inverell RSM Club on Tuesday to showcase their latest VR technology, which our town will soon host permanently.
McLean Care and Deakin University’s School of Engineering have paired up to create a driving simulator which is expected to rapidly change the way older drivers maintain road skills. Funded by the Department of Health, the simulator is the first of its kind.
It aims to allow people in the region to experience driving in a safe and controlled environment.
“The Virtual Reality Driving simulator will provide a ‘virtual’ environment in which older drivers will have the opportunity to practice their driving skills in a safe and low risk environment,” associate professor Ben Horan, director of Deakin University’s CADET VR Lab said.
“The simulator will have the capability to monitor and record driver performance information using a series of health and performance metrics during the virtual driving experience.”
Professor Horan said participants will be able to use the information to see if they are likely to be able to pass driving tests.
“For the first VR driving simulator, the technology has been specifically generated to replicate the streets of Inverell, featuring many local landmarks, to make the experience as real as possible,” McLean Care chief executive officer Sue Thomson said.
Deakin University will be looking for over 65-year-olds to trial and test out the VR driving simulator.
The university says that Tuesday’s event will give locals an insight into “the incredible world of VR” and may give them the opportunity to be one of the first people to test out the world-first simulator.
Deakin will showcase the technology at the Inverell RSM Club on Evans Street from 9am-2pm on Tuesday, June 5. They will also host an event at Tamworth Gardens Retirement Estate on 36 Johnston Street, Tamworth, from 9am-2pm on Wednesday, June 6.
