Virtual beginners can technology come to the rescue?: As lockdown grounds engineers, all face-to-face training is cancelled – but the show must go on. How can the sector ensure professionals learn the essential practical skills they need? Is virtual reality the answer?

BEING PERCHED 100m above the waves trying to fix the blades on a gargantuan wind turbine as it sways to and fro in the wind is terrifying. But it can be less so if you've done it before – in the virtual world. So says Pat O'Connor, whose virtual-reality content firm VRAI creates these kinds of experiences to help engineers prepare and train. Don a headset and you're up there in the North Sea struggling against the elements. When you do it for real, you're already experienced. With lockdown meaning hands-on and face-to-face training for engineers is limited, is VR, augmented (AR) and mixed reality finally coming of age? What's the best way to deliver training when everything has shut down?