So the CNIB GTA Foundation Hub recently had their open house, and I got our first chance to try out the Virtual Reality O&M training system they had discussed before.

Some background information.... the system was designed by CRIM, or Computer Research Institute of Montreal. It uses a HTC Vive VR headset, powered by an MSI VR One backpack laptop. You use the Vive controller to move around in the virtual enviroment by pointing to where you want to go and pressing the button, and it teleports you there. They do have another computer where they can monitor where you are (and I assume load different scenarios).

When you turn your head, your view moves with you. So you can look around to see the traffic, and hear it as well. The graphics themselves were not extremely high resolution, but they were good enough for a basic simulation (storefronts had simulated signs, and the leaves swayed with the wind). The headphones definitely did make it seem like traffic was coming from behind me or in front of me, but I did not have too much time to test it extensively. The scenario they had loaded up had fairly light traffic as well, so I would want to do more testing with more vehicles to see how accurate it is.

I'm not sure when the Hub fully opens up and the public would have an opportunity to give it a try. If you follow the CNIB Ontario twitter (@CNIB_Ontario) or their Facebook, they would likely post the announcement there .