Virtual reality is a rapidly growing technology which utilises the ever-increasing power of computers to simulate real-world and imaginary environments and situations with a high degree of realism and interactiveness. Safety in the South African mining industry is a vital issue. On average, one worker dies every working day, and about 16 are injured in mine-related accidents. Inadequate or insufficient training is often cited as a root cause for many mining fatalities. However, training outside the direct working environment provides only limited real-life opportunities and may fail to make a significant impact within the tense working environment itself. Virtual reality-based training tools can, by contrast, provide simulated exposure to real-world working conditions without the associated risks. This paper discusses contextual requirements and constraints for virtual reality application development, applied to safety training in mines. The results of the contextual analysis were applied to the design and development of several prototypes of VR training systems. The paper also reports on how realism can be enhanced in simulation training systems.

Twenty-first-century mining is a complex pursuit. Stakeholders must manage many interconnected processes and data sets to ensure an operation is sustainable. Mixed Reality (MR) simulation may present an opportunity to improve knowledge and understanding of mine operations via a digital twin. Current and future personnel can model and make predictions using past, current and future data sets. However, MR is still an uncommon tool in the mining industry. This paper asks why that is the case, what some common barriers may be to MR adoption, and presents a possible collaborative solution to make MR sustainable as the technology gains hold and becomes commonplace in mine operations and elsewhere.

This is the second paper of a series authored by a collaboration of international researchers. It develops taxonomy for computer-based virtual reality simulators of relevance to the mining industry. A summary is presented of simulator types implemented in the industry, and continuums are used to explain concepts and issues that affect simulator development and integration. The paper classifies simulators and demonstrates that there are potentially many simulator formats still to be realised and implemented by the mining industry. Simulator issues that are often overlooked such as human factors, cognitive load and development costs and their impact on the development of sustainable simulator technologies are considered in some detail. Barriers to development and integration are mentioned, and the need for industry to engage with university-level research and develop a uniform and integrated approach are discussed. Finally, a brief case study is presented and conclusions are drawn about the current status and sustainability of simulator development in the mining industry.

The usability of any tool or system has to be viewed in terms of the context in which it is used, and its appropriateness to that context. According to the ISO definition of usability, the context of use includes the users, tasks, equipment (hardware, software and materials), and the physical and social environments in which a product is used. Context analysis provides a framework to ensure that all factors which may affect the usability of a product are considered. General TermsMeasurement, Design, Human Factors.

Design research is a maturing research paradigm in a number of disciplines. Design-based research is the educational technology form of design research. This paper explains design-based research (DBR) and its features and principles. After a brief overview of other research designs of the design-anddevelopment genre, we present a new synthesised DBR model, which was applied in the context of developing and evaluating virtual reality safety training for the South African mining industry. The cycles and iterative steps of the model functioned effectively in supporting and representing the process flow of the research, which moved from a complex real-world problem to dual outcomes, namely a practical real-world solution in the form of two virtual reality training systems and a contribution to documented theory in the form of an evaluation framework.