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Review

Examining the Role of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Safety Training

by
Georgios Lampropoulos
1,2,
Pablo Fernández-Arias
3,
Álvaro Antón-Sancho
3 and
Diego Vergara
3,*
1
Department of Applied Informatics, University of Macedonia, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece
2
Department of Education, University of Nicosia, 2417 Nicosia, Cyprus
3
Technology, Instruction and Design in Engineering and Education Research Group (TiDEE.rg), Catholic University of Ávila, C/Canteros s/n, 05005 Ávila, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Electronics 2024, 13(19), 3952; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13193952
Submission received: 14 September 2024 / Revised: 26 September 2024 / Accepted: 6 October 2024 / Published: 7 October 2024
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Abstract

:
This study aims to provide a review of the existing literature regarding the use of extended reality technologies and the metaverse focusing on virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) in safety training. Based on the outcomes, VR was predominantly used in the context of safety training with immersive VR yielding the best outcomes. In comparison, only recently has AR been introduced in safety training but with positive outcomes. Both AR and VR can be effectively adopted and integrated in safety training and render the learning experiences and environments more realistic, secure, intense, interactive, and personalized, which are crucial aspects to ensure high-quality safety training. Their ability to provide safe virtual learning environments in which individuals can practice and develop their skills and knowledge in real-life simulated working settings that do not involve any risks emerged as one of the main benefits. Their ability to support social and collaborative learning and offer experiential learning significantly contributed to the learning outcomes. Therefore, it was concluded that VR and AR emerged as effective tools that can support and enrich safety training and, in turn, increase occupational health and safety.

1. Introduction

According to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda, promoting wellbeing and ensuring healthy lives and appropriate working conditions for all individuals regardless of their socioeconomic status should be prioritized [1]. However, a large portion of workers often suffer from exposure to occupational risk factors [2]. Therefore, safety training is a vital aspect on which more emphasis should be placed as it is strongly related to workers’ occupational health and safety [3].
Safety training refers to the transfer of information through relevant sets of activities and training programs that aim to improve employees’ skills and knowledge to carry out their duties effectively and safely. Safety training is an important aspect in any occupation and it becomes even more crucial in technically complex and high-risk jobs which are performed in high-pressure environments with potentially catastrophic consequences if proper protocols are not followed. Additionally, safety training strives to train employees on safely performing tasks while being able to follow and perform precautionary processes to identify and address workplace incidents and hazards and reduce risks and injury or fatality chances while working. As a result, safety training is a key safety management process that reduces accidents, risks, and occupational injuries and mishaps, improving, thus, occupational health and safety [4,5,6].
Although safety training can reduce accident rates, there are several challenges related to it that must be taken into consideration (e.g., employees’ characteristics, such as native language, education, experiences, etc.) [7]. Additionally, in comparison to other types of occupational training, there are different challenges that can influence employees’ learning engagement as well as skills and knowledge transfer [8]. Therefore, suitable approaches and methods, such as adult learning principles, personalized and tailored to each occupation and individual needs, etc., should be adopted [7,8]. Nonetheless, training constitutes a crucial factor to improve and sustain safety performance and particular emphasis should be placed on applying suitable learning approaches [9]. For example, when safety training is more intense, interactive, secure, and realistic, better learning outcomes can be observed [10]. Therefore, creating environments that could enrich these aspects could further enhance safety training.
Extended reality technologies are increasingly being used in the context of safety training across different domains [11,12,13]. Specifically, augmented reality embeds interactive digital contents and objects in users’ physical environments, thus, enriching the way they perceive and interact with their surroundings [14,15,16]; hence, augmented reality can be applied across different educational contexts to enrich the educational process and learning outcomes [17,18,19,20]. On the other hand, virtual reality creates immersive and interactive digital environments which simulate the real world and settings and engulf them within realistic experiences [21,22]; thus, virtual reality can effectively support learning across different levels, subjects, and contexts [23,24,25]. Moreover, both augmented reality and virtual reality can affect learners’ affective states [26] and create the appropriate learning environments that foster the aspects that are more crucial to effective learning in the context of safety training. Learners’ characteristics can also influence learning outcomes in extended reality environments [27] and this is particularly true in complex training settings. As extended reality technologies are progressing rapidly and are being applied in various sectors including safety training, research into this topic is gaining ground. However, although there have been other systematic literature reviews that have explored the use of virtual reality [28,29] and augmented reality [30,31] in safety training and highlighted the benefits they can yield, to the best of our knowledge, there has not been any study that examined this topic more broadly to provide an overview of the existing state of the art through a bibliometric analysis and scientific mapping. Furthermore, when properly integrated, safety training can significantly decrease the number of fatalities, accidents, and injuries in the workplace [3,32,33]. However, safety training and its overall effectiveness is affected by different factors, such as national culture, organizational climate, individual’s characteristics and perceptions, as well as the tools and environments used during training [7,34,35]. Computer-aided and technology-enhanced learning interventions have proven to yield more effective training in the context of safety training in comparison to traditional tools [36]. Therefore, it is important to explore how novel technologies, such as extended reality technologies, can be used in safety training to further increase the benefits it can yield.
Therefore, the aim of this study is to offer an overview of the role and integration of extended reality technologies (e.g., augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality) and the metaverse in safety training across settings and domains through a bibliometric analysis and scientific mapping of the existing literature. Hence, to guide this study, the main research question set to be examined is “What is the current state of the art regarding the use of extended reality technologies in safety training”. To answer this question, emphasis is placed on the document collection, the annual citations and published documents, the sources, the affiliations, the countries, as well as the document analysis in terms of most impactful documents, keywords, trend topics, conceptual structure map, the topic thematic map, and the topic thematic evolution. The examination of the integration of extended reality technologies in safety training and the analysis, mapping, and representation of the existing literature can be regarded as the main contributions of this study. Moreover, the outcomes of this study further add to the existing body of knowledge about this topic by identifying and presenting related research gaps and trajectories as well as emerging topics and trends and offering suggestions for future research paths. The rest of the study is structured as follows: Section 2 presents the materials and methods used and presents the methodology followed and the steps of the document processing in detail. Section 3 presents the result analysis, which puts emphasis on different aspects of the examined document collection. Section 4 further discusses the outcomes of this study and delves into other related works that were identified within the document collection that have highlighted the use of virtual reality and augmented reality technologies in safety training. Finally, Section 4 provides conclusion remarks, offers suggestions for future research, and goes over the limitations of this study.

2. Materials and Methods

To ensure a valid and reproducible dataset, this study adopted the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement [37] to identify, select, and process the documents related to the topic. Additionally, to offer a thorough analysis, appropriate guidelines were also followed [38,39]. To offer an overview of the use of augmented reality and virtual reality in safety training, a scientific mapping and bibliometric analysis approach was used, which is deemed an effective approach to explore such topics [40].
To identify suitable and relevant documents, the Scopus and Web of Science databases were selected and used. Specifically, these databases were selected due to their high relevancy to the topic, the high impact of the indexed sources and documents, as well as their being highly regarded [41,42]. Another reason for selecting them was their ability to generate data that can be used within the open-source R package “Bibliometrix” tool adopted in this study to analyze the documents [43].
To offer a thorough analysis, all types of documents were considered throughout the years and the only limitation set was for them to be written in English. The specific query, (“augmented reality” OR “AR” OR “virtual reality” OR “VR” OR “extended reality” OR “XR” OR “mixed reality” OR “MR” OR “immersive” OR “metaverse”) AND (“safety train*”), was set which contained all the terms and abbreviation related to extended reality technologies and the core concept of safety training. In this sense, using such keywords, all related to the topic documents could be identified. However, some of the abbreviations used could also mean different things and as a result, some non-related documents were also identified. These documents were removed later. Furthermore, since 2024 was still ongoing during the conduct of this study, only data up to 2023 was used. Hence, the data related to 2024 was not used to ensure a valid representation of the data related to 2024 as, if it were included, data from two quarters would be missing. Finally, for a related document to be included in the analysis, the following inclusion criteria should have been met: the study should involve an extended reality technology or the metaverse and focus on their integration and role in safety training.
The search query was used in July 2024 to search for relevant topics on Scopus and WoS databases. The search was conducted on the topic level of the documents, that is, the title, abstract, and keywords. From Scopus 456 related documents were identified and 272 were identified from WoS. Hence, in total 728 documents emerged as potentially relevant. Thereafter, 236 documents were removed as they were duplicates and another 83 were automatically removed through the analysis of the occurrence of related keywords in the document title and abstract. Hence, 409 documents were manually assessed for eligibility. Furthermore, 23 documents were removed as they were proceedings books, 2 were removed since they were indicated as works in progress, and 4 were removed since they were short notes or communications. Additionally, 69 documents were removed due to their not meeting the inclusion criteria as they did not involve extended reality technologies or the metaverse and simultaneously focus on aspects of safety training. Therefore, the document collection analyzed in this study consisted of 311 documents. The complete process of the documents is displayed in Figure 1.

3. Results

Focusing on presenting the existing state of the art regarding the use and integration of extended reality technologies in safety training, this section goes over the result analysis which adopted a quantitative approach to answer the main research question. Specifically, the information regarding the document collection examined is described, the publication frequency of the documents and the citations they have received throughout the years are explored, and the most influential sources are identified. Additionally, the affiliations and countries whose authors have explored this topic are also examined. Finally, the document keywords are analyzed and the thematic map and trend topics are looked into.

3.1. Document Collection

According to the data displayed in Table 1 and Table 2, the 311 documents within this collection span from 1996 to 2023, have an average document age of 5.1 years, received 22.08 citations on average, and showcase a 16.8% annual growth rate. However, when focusing on the documents published in the last 5 years (2019–2023), it should be noted that 222 documents were published during that time period, the documents have an average age of 2.61 years, the average citations received per document is 14.59, and the annual growth rate is 26.22%. According to these facts, it can be stated that the importance of the topic has increased and the research into it has also gained ground. However, to provide a more holistic look into the topic, the analysis focuses on the complete document collection (1996–2023).
Furthermore, the documents were published in 217 sources and mostly consisted of documents published as conference/proceedings papers (47.3%) or journal articles (43.7%) and, to a lesser extent, as review articles (7.1%) and book chapters (1.9%). In total, 841 authors contributed to the documents examined and of the documents, 5.5% were single-authored. A total of 1226 unique keywords plus and author’s keywords were used in the 311 documents. Additionally, during the period of 1996–2023, the international co-authorship rate was 18.3% and was further increased to 21.62% during the period of 2019–2023. This outcome highlights the global interest in the topic and the need for international collaboration to materialize to further advance this field of study.

3.2. Annual Published Documents and Citations

Based on Figure 2, most documents (71.4%) were published in the last 5 years. Specifically, the majority of the documents were published in 2023 (21.2%) and in 2022 (15.8%). The increasing interest in the topic is highlighted by the high annual growth rate during both time periods. Moreover, according to Figure 2, three (3) periods can be identified: (i) 1996–2007 (initial phase); (ii) 2008–2018 (topic materialization phase); and (iii) 2019–2023 (breakthrough years). Specifically, these time periods are based on the number of documents published per year, in which, in the initial phase only a limited number of 1–3 published documents can be observed, in the topic materialization phase 6–18 documents were published, and in the breakthrough years phase 26–66 documents were published. In each of the time periods specified, an increase of more than three times in published documents can be observed, which highlights the gradual increase in the interest surrounding this topic. According to the outcomes, it is expected that the significance of and the interest in the topic will keep increasing in the coming years.
Moreover, examining the yearly document scientific production and citations received, which are presented in Table 3, the years in which the most impactful documents were published based on the mean total citations per document (MeanTCperDoc) can be identified. Specifically, the documents published in 2018 (n = 18, MeanTCperDoc = 72.72, MeanTCperYear = 10.4, and CitableYears = 7) were the most impactful ones, followed by those published in 2009 (n = 6, MeanTCperDoc = 45.33, MeanTCperYear = 2.83, and CitableYears = 16) and 2014 (n = 7, MeanTCperDoc = 44.5, MeanTCperYear = 4.04, and CitableYears = 11). These outcomes are expected to alter in the future due to the recency of the interest in this topic and when considering the average document age in both time periods.

3.3. Sources

The 311 documents of the document collection examined were published in 217 different sources. Specifically, most documents were published as “conference/proceedings papers” (freq.: 147 and perc.: 47.3%) or “journal articles” (freq.: 136 and perc.: 43.7%). Fewer documents were “review articles” (freq.: 22 and perc.: 7.1%) or “book chapters” (freq.: 6 and perc.: 1.9%). “Safety Science” (h-index: 9 and total citations: 667), “Automation in Construction” (h-index: 6 and total citations: 813), “Computers & Education” (h-index: 4 and total citations: 323), “Applied Ergonomics” (h-index: 4 and total citations: 200), “Journal of Safety Research” (h-index: 4 and total citations: 92), and “Construction Innovation” (h-index: 4 and total citations: 83) were identified as the most prominent sources based on their h-index and total citations on the topic. The detailed list of impactful sources is presented in Table 4.
The sources were further analyzed using Bradford’s law to cluster them into three (3) clusters in which cluster 1 has the most impactful sources, followed by cluster 2 and cluster 3. According to the outcomes, 20 sources (14.7%) were part of cluster 1, 54 (39.7%) of cluster 2, and 62 (45.6%) of cluster 3. Moreover, “Safety Science”, “Automation in Construction”, “Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering”, “Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)”, and “Virtual Reality” emerged as the top 5 sources of cluster 1. The detailed list of the top 10 sources according to Bradford’s law is depicted in Table 5.

3.4. Affiliations

Looking into the affiliations, the University of Florida (25 documents), the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (17 documents), and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (13 documents) emerged as the top 3 affiliations whose authors have published the most documents. Six (6) affiliations were associated with the publication of 11 documents and two (2) with the publication of 10 documents. The detailed list of the top 10 affiliations is showcased in Figure 3.

3.5. Countries

When examining the countries, the corresponding authors’ country was taken into account and in case no corresponding author was indicated, the country of the first author was used. In total, authors from 43 countries contributed to this document collection. Among the countries, the United States (76 documents), China (56 documents), Australia (18 documents), and the United Kingdom (16 documents) emerged as the top 4 countries whose authors have published the most documents on this topic. The detailed list of the top 10 based on the number of documents published are presented in Table 6. Additionally, the highest levels of intra-country collaborations (SCP) were noticed in the United States (SCP = 70) and China (SCP = 44). When examining the inter-country collaborations (MCP), China (MCP = 12) emerged as the country with the largest number of inter-country collaborations, followed by the United States (MCP = 4). The number of total citations received was also examined to identify the most impactful countries in terms of the total number of citations that the documents written by authors affiliated with an institute in this specific country received. Particularly, the United States (1752 total citations), Australia (1124 total citations), Israel (705 total citations), and China (572 total citations) were the top 4 which received the most citations. The list of the top 10 countries in terms of the total citations received is presented in Table 7. Additionally, when looking at the average article citations for each country, the documents written by authors in Israel received a significantly higher number of average citations per document (352.5). Documents coming from Australia (62.4) and Denmark (43.2) also showcased a high level of average citations received per document. Moreover, the top 10 countries based on the average document citations (ADC) received are presented in Table 8. Based on the outcomes, Israel (ADC = 352.5), Australia (ADC = 62.4), Denmark (ADC = 43.2), South Africa (ADC = 37.9), and New Zealand (ADC = 37.5) arose as the top 5 that received the largest number of citations per document on average.
Given the low number of single-authored documents (5.5% during 1996–2023 and 5.0% during 2019–2023), the relatively high numbers of international co-authorship rate (18.33% during 1996–2023 and 21.62% during 2019–2023), and the average number of co-authors (3.71 during 1996–2023 and 3.86 during 2019–2023), it becomes evident that meaningful international collaborations were established to examine this topic and help further advance it. This is particularly important since the topic is of highly multidisciplinary nature. When looking into the collaboration network presented in Figure 4, it becomes evident that six (6) main clusters of country collaboration emerged. This fact becomes more evident when examining the country collaboration map depicted in Figure 5. In most cases, these clusters of collaboration consist of countries from different regions and continents. This fact highlights the global interest and significance of this topic.

3.6. Document Analysis

To identify the most impactful documents, the global citations received were considered. Based on the outcomes presented in Table 9, the top 5 most impactful documents were the studies of Li et al. [29], Sacks et al. [44], Wang et al. [31], Perlman et al. [45], and Buttussi and Chittaro [46]. However, it should be mentioned that the identification of the most impactful documents was objectively carried out based on the number of citations they had received according to the data reported from the databases. As a result, it is worth noting that potentially impactful documents which were recently published and that integrated new software and hardware which could receive a larger number of citations than the studies reported in the future do not appear in this table due to their recency and low number of citable years.
Furthermore, to obtain a better understanding of the scope of the topic and its main areas, the keywords used were examined. It is worth noting that both keywords plus and author’s keywords were analyzed. However, as keywords plus can result in more accurate, valid, and representative outcomes, they were used over the author’s keywords to examine the evolution of the topic, the main themes, and the research trends [52]. As it can be seen in Figure 6, the most commonly used keywords plus were: “virtual reality” (n = 138), “safety training” (n = 57), “e-learning” (n = 50), “accident prevention” (n = 33), and “management” (n = 28). Additionally, based on the outcomes presented in Figure 7, the most widely used author’s keywords were: “virtual reality” (n = 188), “safety training” (n = 75), “training” (n = 46), “safety” (n = 38), and “construction safety” (n = 25). Based on the results, it can be inferred that in both cases, the focus was predominantly on the use of virtual reality in safety training as well as on its role in different aspects of safety training, such as management, learning, accident prevention, construction safety, etc. The use of augmented reality was also noticed but to a lesser extent.
Moreover, as it can be observed in Figure 8, the keyword co-occurrence network revealed two (2) main areas. The main elements in each of the main areas were the key technology used, which, in the case of the red area, was virtual reality while for the blue area, it was augmented reality. The top keywords were also examined in relation to the top countries and sources, as it can be seen in Figure 9. In both cases, a closer relationship between virtual reality and safety training than that of augmented reality and safety training can be observed. Additionally, the potential of virtual reality to be used in different safety training settings and domains is highlighted in both cases.
Finally, the keywords plus were also used to examine the most popular topics over the years. The related outcomes are presented in Figure 10. It is worth mentioning that the focus was initially simply on virtual environments and their role in safety training in mining. As time went by, more emphasis was put on creating virtual reality simulations that could be used as training tools to facilitate training and learning in the context of safety training. Slowly, more emphasis was also placed on other domains. In more recent years, the focus also shifted into other aspects of safety training, including both human factors and managerial aspects. The emphasis on training individuals on how to appropriately act under dangerous, hazardous, and unprecedented circumstances was also indicated. During the last few years, efforts to integrate safety training in the context of engineering education were noticed. Finally, although virtual reality was a prominent factor in the development of this field of study and in the advancement of safety training, only recently more emphasis has also started to be put on augmented reality as well.
Based on the outcomes of the conceptual structure map which is presented in Figure 11, four (4) main dimensions emerged. These dimensions were associated with (i) virtual reality, e-learning, and accident prevention; (ii) virtual reality, safety training, and e-learning; (iii) virtual reality, safety training, and occupational risks; and (iv) virtual reality, management, and augmented reality. Based on these outcomes, a close relationship between virtual reality, and, to a lesser extent, augmented reality, and safety training, risk management, occupation safety, accident prevention, and e-learning was noticed.
Based on the findings presented in Figure 12, the topic thematic map revealed six (6) main themes. Using keywords plus, these thematic topics were categorized into basic, emerging or declining, niche, and motor themes. The basic theme identified was related to construction, virtual environments, and virtual reality simulations. The two (2) emerging or declining themes identified were related to (i) fires and fire protection and (ii) three dimensional virtual spaces. The niche topic identified focused on training, computer simulations, and simulation training. Finally, the two (2) motor themes were related to (i) virtual reality, safety training, and e-learning as well as (ii) management, environments, and education. Based on these outcomes, the role of virtual reality in providing safe, immersive, and interactive learning environments and simulation to support and enhance safety training in different contexts is highlighted.
To explore the topic’s thematic evolution, three (3) time periods were set as it can be seen in Figure 13. Specifically, the first time period (1996–2019) consists of the initial advancements in the field up to the beginning of the last five years, while the two following time periods (2020–2021 and 2022–2023) focus on the advancements and shift of focus that took place in the span of two years in each case. According to the results, it can be inferred that although virtual reality was initially mostly used to analyze individuals’ behaviors, actions, decisions, and reaction in specific cases, its role has started to expand in recent years with more emphasis being placed on how to effectively train individuals, including both students and workers, on how to identify dangerous situations and problems, how to prevent such issues, and how to act accordingly to ensure their safety, the safety of the others around them, and the safety of the environment. As the field further advances, more emphasis is being placed on specific aspects of safety training, which, in turn, is becoming more realistic, interactive, and personalized. Finally, emphasis is being placed on how to integrate safety training through virtual reality in engineering education.

4. Discussion

Safety training is an integral part of occupational health and safety [3] and an important aspect in ensuring appropriate working conditions and supporting employees’ wellbeing [1]. As a safety management process, safety training can significantly contribute toward increasing occupational health and safety [4,5,6]. Therefore, the interest in and research on the topic are increasing. Moreover, due to the nature and challenges associated with safety training, appropriate learning approaches and methods should be adopted [7,8,9]. As safety training is more effective when it occurs in environments that are characterized by high levels of realism, interactivity, intensity, and security [10], studies have explored and highlighted the benefits that the integration of augmented reality and virtual reality can bring about when used in the context of safety training [28,29,30,31]. Given the importance of offering highly realistic experiences, appropriate techniques and approaches to generate and visualize content should be used to provide users with realistic and immersive environments [53,54,55,56].
To provide an overview of the current state of the art regarding the adoption and integration of augmented reality and virtual reality in safety training, this study focused on conducting a bibliometric analysis and scientific mapping of the existing literature. Specifically, 311 relevant to the topic documents which were published during 1996–2023 were identified using Scopus and WoS databases. The high annual growth rate presented during 1996–2023 increased even more when considering the documents published in the last five years (2019–2023). Additionally, of the 311 documents examined, 222 (71.4%) documents were published in the last five years. These outcomes highlight the increasing importance of the topic and the need to further explore it. Documents published in 2018, 2009, and 2014 were the most impactful ones based on the mean total citations per document.
Furthermore, the documents were published in 311 sources with an almost equal distribution between conference/proceedings papers and journal articles. The studies were also published as book chapters or review articles but to a lesser degree. When considering the h-index of the sources on the topic based on the document collection examined, “Safety Science”, “Automation in Construction”, “Computers & Education”, “Applied Ergonomics”, “Journal of Safety Research”, and “Construction Innovation” emerged as the top ones. Additionally, three main clusters of documents emerged through the use of Bradford’s law in which the most impactful sources were contained in cluster 1 and made up 14.7% of the total sources. When examining the sources contained in cluster 1, “Safety Science”, “Automation in Construction”, “Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering”, “Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)”, and “Virtual Reality” arose as the top 5 sources.
From the 649 authors who contributed to this document collection, the ones who published the most documents on this topic were located in institutes in the United States, China, Australia, and the United Kingdom. When considering the total citations received, the United States, Australia, Israel, and China emerged as the countries with the most citations. However, when focusing on the average citations per document, authors in Israel had a significantly higher number. When comparing SCP with MCP, it can be inferred that collaborations mostly occur on an intra-country level. The United States and China had the highest level of both SCP and MCP with the United States demonstrating higher levels of SCP and lower levels of MCP when compared to China. When factoring in the low number of single-authored documents, the relatively high rate of international co-authorship, the average number of co-authors per document, and the collaboration clusters that emerged, it can be inferred that meaningful international collaborations are materialized, which can propel the advancement of the topic. This is of great significance since the topic is defined by a highly multidisciplinary nature.
When examining the keywords to identify trend topics, a gradual increase in the topic diversity over the years can be observed. Key concepts to safety training such as risk assessment, accident prevention, and occupational risks were identified and significant traction in the themes of virtual reality, augmented reality, simulations, and e-learning was evident over the years. Additionally, although the initial focus was on the coal industry, the expansion of integrating safety training across other domains was noticed. These facts highlight the diverse nature of extended reality technologies and the need for safety training in various domains as well as the gradual transition from traditional tools and methods to technology-enhanced approaches. Moreover, the conceptual structure map revealed four main clusters. The cluster of virtual reality, e-learning, and accident prevention depicting high centrality and impact highlights it being influential and well connected and it being a significant topic to focus on to shape and advance this field of study. The cluster of virtual reality, safety training, and e-learning indicates less impactful topics with high centrality, which highlights the broader influence and critical nature of these topics and, thus, the need to further explore them. The cluster of virtual reality, management, and augmented reality indicates less central but impactful topics which, although significant in nature, are less connected to the existing literature and need to be further examined due to their potential to help further broadening this study field. Finally, the cluster of virtual reality, safety training, and occupational risks presents the more general and, in turn, less impactful topics within the field. As far as the thematic map of the topic is concerned, six main topics emerged. Specifically, the two motor themes, which are central and more developed, were related to virtual reality, safety training, and e-learning, as well as management, environment, and education. Due to their position in the graph, it can be inferred that these topics play a critical role in shaping this field of study. The niche topic identified was related to training, computer simulation, and simulation training and, based on its position, it can be said that the focus on this topic and safety training in general is characterized by high centrality and an emphasis on a broader scope than on specific niche topics. Within the emerging or declining themes, two main topics emerged, which were related to three-dimensional environments as well as fires and fire protection. Given the nature of the topics identified, the need to focus more on three-dimensional representations and on fire hazards is highlighted. Finally, the topic identified within the basic themes was related to construction, virtual environments, and virtual reality simulations and based on its position in the graph, its significance to the topic and the need to explore it in more detail arose.
To obtain a better understanding of the use of augmented reality and virtual reality in safety training, the top 10 most impactful documents based on the number of citations received were examined. Specifically, Li et al. [29] carried out a critical review focusing on the applications of augmented reality and virtual reality in construction safety. In their study, they identified research gaps and presented a taxonomy of augmented and virtual reality technology characteristics, safety scenarios, domains of application, and evaluation methods. Sacks et al. [44] focused on the use of immersive virtual reality in construction safety training. Their experimental study revealed that virtual reality can further increase learners’ concentration and attention as well as that training in virtual reality environments can be more effective in the long run. Additionally, given the specific domains and tasks in which virtual reality is applied, virtual reality can result in more effective learning outcomes when compared to traditional methods of teaching; thus, its use in the context of construction safety training is encouraged. Moreover, Wang et al. [31] conducted a critical review regarding the adoption and use of virtual reality in construction engineering training and education. Based on their outcomes, virtual reality and, to a lesser extent, augmented reality are being effectively used in different aspects of construction engineering. Additionally, the evolution from desktop-based to immersive and 3D game-based virtual reality environments and to building information modeling-enabled virtual reality was highlighted. Perlman et al. [45] explored the use of a three-sided virtual reality CAVE for risk perception and hazard recognition in construction safety. According to their findings, individuals who trained and performed within virtual reality environments achieved higher levels of risk assessment and hazard recognition than those that followed traditional methods. Buttussi and Chittaro [46] examined different types of virtual reality displays and how they influenced users’ learning and presence within safety training scenarios. Their results revealed that the type of display and the immersive experience can influence learning outcomes. However, in all cases, users’ self-efficacy and knowledge were increased and maintained.
Furthermore, Makransky et al. [47] focused on examining the cognitive and motivational benefits when training within immersive virtual reality environments in the context of laboratory safety training. Based on the outcomes, significant differences in terms of problem solving, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation were observed, which were in favor of the learners who trained within the immersive virtual reality environments when compared to those that used traditional text methods. Desktop virtual reality also yielded better results than the text-based method but to a lesser extent when compared to immersive virtual reality. Le et al. [48] explored online social virtual reality-based construction safety in the context of experiential learning. Their findings indicated the improvement that can be achieved within health education and construction safety when training within social and collaborative virtual reality environments. Additionally, Rizzo et al. [49] examined the effect of virtual reality scenarios in the context of safety training and healthcare through a literature overview. The article concluded that due to the benefits that can be yielded, virtual reality environments will be more widely developed and integrated across different domains as they add value when compared to traditional learning environments and particularly in hands-on experiences and experiential learning. Zhao and Lucas [50] looked into the use of virtual reality simulation to promote and enrich construction safety. The ability of virtual reality-based safety training programs to offer realistic hands-on experiences within secure, safe, and interactive environments in which the participants can learn, practice, and experiment on different tasks within various settings emerged as the main benefit of virtual reality simulations. Finally, van Wyk and de Villiers [51] conducted a study involving the application of virtual reality training in the context of safety training in the mining industry. Through the demonstration of several prototype applications, the ability of virtual reality to realistically simulate real-world working settings in which individuals can safely practice and hone their skills and knowledge without any associated risks was highlighted. Additionally, the need to provide experiences and environments that are characterized by increased levels of realism and interaction to achieve better learning outcomes was pointed out.
Through the analysis of the aforementioned outcomes as well as from the outcomes of the keyword analysis, it can be inferred that among extended reality technologies, virtual reality is predominantly being used in the context of safety training. Due to its immersive and interactive nature, virtual reality offers realistic and safe environments in which individuals can practice and develop their knowledge and skills. These environments and settings simulate real-life working conditions without involving any associated risks. Additionally, virtual reality is applied in different domains of safety training and when compared to traditional learning and training methods (Figure 14), it can result in learners’ achieving higher levels of awareness, risk perception, hazard recognition, and preparedness as well as increasing their learning outcomes, concentration, and retention. However, there is a need to create highly interactive and realistic experiences and environments to further enhance the benefits that can be yielded when learning and training within virtual reality environments. Moreover, although the effect of virtual reality on learning outcomes can be influenced by several factors (e.g., display type, specific tasks and domains, etc.) among the different types of virtual reality experiences, the use of immersive virtual reality results in achieving most benefits. The fact that virtual reality creates social and collaborative learning experiences that foster active engagement, hands-on experiences, and experiential learning is worth noting. Therefore, it constitutes an effective learning means that can be applied in and enrich various aspects of safety training.

5. Conclusions

Through safety training, technically complex and high-risk jobs like firefighters, security forces, doctors, chemical and nuclear operators, learn to identify hazards, respond effectively to emergency situations and minimize risks by applying proven safety protocols. Additionally, safety training reinforces situational awareness and fosters teamwork, which is essential when dealing with risky situations, reduces the potential for accidents and ensures that workers are prepared to cope with any challenges that arise.
This study aimed to provide an overview of the role and use of extended reality technologies (e.g., augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality) in safety training across settings and domains. Therefore, it carried out a bibliometric analysis and scientific mapping of the existing literature. Specifically, this study went over the characteristics of the document collection, analyzed the annual published documents and citations, and explored the different sources used when publishing documents related to the topic. Moreover, this study examined the countries and affiliations of the authors who have contributed to the document collection analyzed and explored the relationships among them. Emphasis was also placed on identifying and analyzing the most impactful documents, and examining the keywords used and their co-occurrence network. The conceptual structure map of the topic, its thematic map, and its thematic evolution over the years were also analyzed and presented.
Based on the outcomes of this study and focusing on addressing the research question set, extended reality technologies emerged as an effective means in the context of safety training. Virtual reality was predominantly used in the context of safety training and resulted in learners’ achieving higher learning outcomes. Among the different types of virtual reality, immersive virtual reality can lead to the best outcomes. Only recently have studies focused on the use of augmented reality in safety training but the results reveal its potentials to effectively support it. Nonetheless, both augmented reality and virtual reality can be effectively adopted and integrated in safety training and render the learning experiences and environments more realistic, secure, intense, interactive, and personalized. The ability of individuals to practice and develop their skills and knowledge in real-life simulated working settings within safe virtual environments that do not involve any risk emerged as one of the main benefits. Experiencing social and collaborative learning and partaking in experiential learning within virtual learning environments can also increase the learning outcomes. As a result, augmented reality and virtual reality can be applied in different domains and aspects of safety training and allow individuals to increase their learning outcomes, concentration, and retention as well as to achieve higher levels of preparedness, awareness, hazard recognition, and risk perception. Therefore, it can be concluded that augmented reality and virtual reality emerged as effective tools that can support and enrich safety training and can increase occupational health and safety.
Future studies should focus on further applying these technologies in real training settings to evaluate their effectiveness and to identify suitable approaches to effectively integrate them in safety training. It is also important to identify the most effective aspects of virtual learning environments that would lead to increased learning outcomes. Finally, more emphasis should be placed on individuals’ characteristics and how these affect their learning about safety training concepts in virtual learning environments and the way they apply their acquired knowledge and skills in real-world settings to ensure the safety of the environment, their own safety, and the safety of others around them.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, G.L. and D.V.; methodology, G.L. and Á.A.-S.; software, G.L.; validation, P.F.-A., Á.A.-S. and D.V.; formal analysis, G.L. and P.F.-A.; investigation, G.L., P.F.-A., Á.A.-S. and D.V.; resources, G.L.; writing—original draft preparation, G.L.; writing—review and editing, G.L., P.F.-A., Á.A.-S. and D.V.; supervision, G.L., P.F.-A., Á.A.-S. and D.V. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Data Availability Statement

The data examined in this study is available from the first author upon reasonable request.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Figure 1. Document processing.
Figure 1. Document processing.
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Figure 2. Annual published documents.
Figure 2. Annual published documents.
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Figure 3. Top affiliations based on the number of documents published.
Figure 3. Top affiliations based on the number of documents published.
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Figure 4. Country collaboration network.
Figure 4. Country collaboration network.
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Figure 5. Country collaboration map.
Figure 5. Country collaboration map.
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Figure 6. Most frequent keywords plus.
Figure 6. Most frequent keywords plus.
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Figure 7. Most frequent author’s keywords.
Figure 7. Most frequent author’s keywords.
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Figure 8. Keywords plus co-occurrence network.
Figure 8. Keywords plus co-occurrence network.
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Figure 9. Relationship between countries, keywords, and sources.
Figure 9. Relationship between countries, keywords, and sources.
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Figure 10. Trend topics based on keywords plus.
Figure 10. Trend topics based on keywords plus.
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Figure 11. Conceptual structure map.
Figure 11. Conceptual structure map.
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Figure 12. Thematic map of the topic.
Figure 12. Thematic map of the topic.
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Figure 13. Thematic evolution of the topic.
Figure 13. Thematic evolution of the topic.
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Figure 14. Benefits and requirements of virtual reality when applied in different areas of safety training compared to traditional learning and training methods.
Figure 14. Benefits and requirements of virtual reality when applied in different areas of safety training compared to traditional learning and training methods.
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Table 1. Document collection information (1996–2023).
Table 1. Document collection information (1996–2023).
DescriptionResultsDescriptionResults
Main information about data Document types
Timespan1996:2023Article136
Sources (Journals, Books, etc.)217Book chapter6
Documents311Conference/Proceedings paper147
Annual Growth Rate%16.79Review22
Document Average Age5.1Authors
Average Citations per Document22.08Authors841
References6883Authors of single-authored docs16
Document contents Authors collaboration
Keywords Plus (ID)1226Single-authored docs17
Author’s Keywords (DE)743Co-Authors per Doc3.71
International co-authorships%18.33
Table 2. Document collection information (2019–2023).
Table 2. Document collection information (2019–2023).
DescriptionResultsDescriptionResults
Main information about data Document types
Timespan2019:2023Article102
Sources (Journals, Books, etc.)151Book chapter5
Documents222Conference/Proceedings paper97
Annual Growth Rate%26.22Review18
Document Average Age2.61Authors
Average Citations per Document14.59Authors649
References6016Authors of single-authored docs11
Document contents Authors collaboration
Keywords Plus (ID)852Single-authored docs11
Author’s Keywords (DE)599Co-Authors per Doc3.86
International co-authorships%21.62
Table 3. Annual scientific production and citations.
Table 3. Annual scientific production and citations.
YearMeanTCperDocNMeanTCperYearCitableYearsYearMeanTCperDocNMeanTCperYearCitableYears
1996710.24292013164313.6712
19991510.5826201444.4374.0411
200024.6730.9925201539.4103.9410
200135.3331.472420161571.679
2002310.1323201711.92131.498
20051410.720201872.781810.47
20068724.5819201939.15266.526
200717.520.9718202019.26433.855
200812.3360.7317202120.47385.124
200945.3362.831620227.73492.583
201021.2541.421520233.59661.792
2012210.1513
Table 4. Most impactful sources based on h-index and total citations.
Table 4. Most impactful sources based on h-index and total citations.
Sourcesh-Indexg-Indexm-IndexTCNPPY_Start
Safety Science9130.818667132014
Automation in Construction680.85781382018
Computers & Education440.66732342019
Applied Ergonomics44120042021
Journal of Safety Research440.89242020
Construction Innovation440.88342020
Table 5. Most impactful sources based on Bradford’s law.
Table 5. Most impactful sources based on Bradford’s law.
SourceRankFreqcumFreqCluster
Safety Science11313Cluster 1
Automation in Construction2821Cluster 1
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering3526Cluster 1
Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)4531Cluster 1
Virtual Reality5536Cluster 1
2020 11th IEEE International Conference on Cognitive Infocommunications (CogInfoCom 2020)6440Cluster 1
Applied Ergonomics7444Cluster 1
ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings8448Cluster 1
Computers & Education9452Cluster 1
Construction Innovation10456Cluster 1
Table 6. Countries that published the most over time.
Table 6. Countries that published the most over time.
CountryArticlesSCPMCPFreqMCP_Ratio
United States767060.2440.079
China5644120.180.214
Australia181440.0580.222
United Kingdom161240.0510.25
Finland12930.0390.25
South Korea12840.0390.333
Italy10910.0320.1
Germany9540.0290.444
India8800.0260
Egypt7520.0230.286
Table 7. Countries that received the most citations.
Table 7. Countries that received the most citations.
CountryTCAverage Document Citations
United States175223.1
Australia112462.4
Israel705352.5
China57210.2
Italy34234.2
South Korea30725.6
South Africa26537.9
Denmark25943.2
Germany19621.8
United Kingdom18411.5
Table 8. Countries that with the highest average citations received per document.
Table 8. Countries that with the highest average citations received per document.
CountryTCAverage Document Citations
Israel705352.5
Australia112462.4
Denmark25943.2
South Africa26537.9
New Zealand15037.5
United Arab Emirates7236
Belgium3535
Italy34234.2
Turkey13734.2
South Korea30725.6
Table 9. Most impactful documents based on the total number of citations received.
Table 9. Most impactful documents based on the total number of citations received.
DocumentDOITotal CitationsTotal Citations per YearNormalized Total Citations
[29]10.1016/j.autcon.2017.11.00351273.147.04
[44]10.1080/01446193.2013.82884445938.252.8
[31]10.3390/ijerph1506120432846.864.51
[45]10.1016/j.ssci.2013.11.01924622.365.54
[46]10.1109/TVCG.2017.265311724234.573.33
[47]10.1111/jcal.1237520634.335.26
[48]10.1007/s10846-014-0112-z18418.44.67
[49]10.1017/S10928529000241961588.321.82
[50]10.1080/17457300.2013.86185314814.83.76
[51]10.1145/1503454.15034651408.753.09
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MDPI and ACS Style

Lampropoulos, G.; Fernández-Arias, P.; Antón-Sancho, Á.; Vergara, D. Examining the Role of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Safety Training. Electronics 2024, 13, 3952. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13193952

AMA Style

Lampropoulos G, Fernández-Arias P, Antón-Sancho Á, Vergara D. Examining the Role of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Safety Training. Electronics. 2024; 13(19):3952. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13193952

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lampropoulos, Georgios, Pablo Fernández-Arias, Álvaro Antón-Sancho, and Diego Vergara. 2024. "Examining the Role of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Safety Training" Electronics 13, no. 19: 3952. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13193952

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