Cruise line's VR tool trains wait staff in simulated, 105-table dining room

Dive Brief:

Virtual reality platform Pixvana has developed a training solution that helps restaurant servers aboard Seabourn Cruise Line ships navigate busy dining hours, according to a statement.
The VR scenario, dubbed "TableVision," trains wait staff to memorize the layout of a 105-table dining room with 12 serving stations. TableVision "simulates the psychological experience of wandering through the dining room" using interactive tools that "enhance training recall," Pixvana said. Rocky Sudlesky, fleet learning and development lead specialist at Seabourn, said in a statement that the solution would help to train an employee base for whom it is difficult to find time to train due to the company's ships constantly being in operation.
A separate feature provided by Pixvana will also enable Seabourn to use the TableVision tool without an internet connection. The feature, VR Casting, allows the training to be securely transmitted and downloaded to any Oculus Go headset for access at any global location.

Dive Insight:

Employers are increasingly finding novel use cases for virtual and augmented reality tools in the workplace as popular adoption of the technologies also expands. Past examples have seen retailers use the tech to prepare workers for noisy store environments, while food producers have used VR to train workers on safety measures and protocols.

But VR is going beyond training for physical tasks. Some applications train employees on soft skills, like communication and leadership. Some solutions build entire scenarios that give staff members a chance to grow such capabilities in an environment that allows for the occasional gaffe.

While overall adoption may be limited to specific use cases, both VR and AR are evolving to become a source of training personalization. A recent survey of tech industry leaders showed a majority believe both technologies are highly applicable to workforce training and development. Employees, meanwhile, might value both the experiential learning and space for making mistakes that AR and VR provide.