Design and operation of a virtual reality operator-training system

The risks to equipment and personnel associated with the manual operation of switching station equipment demand rigorous personnel instruction. Additionally, switching errors reduce customer service quality. With the virtual reality operator-training simulator ESOPE-VR, trainees can practice all necessary switching operations in complete safety, while maintaining a high degree of realism. A speech-recognition system allows for complete control of the training session by the operator trainee, while sound immersion adds a dimension of realism to the virtual world. An expert-system validates the trainee's operations at all stages of the process and provides verbal context-sensitive advice whenever errors are made. A steady-state power-flow simulator recalculates network variables whenever operator actions lead to changes in topology. The automated conversion of station single-line diagrams to realistic three-dimensional models permits an operator to be trained economically for of a large number of stations.