Virtual Reality Velo - an interview with Suva's campaign manager

"People can deal with a risk situation in a hazard-free way," says Corinne Decurtins from Suva about the "Virtual Reality Velo" project. The Bandara agency implemented the project in collaboration with Suva and the city of Zurich at the Swiss Museum of Transport, as we have already reported. In an interview with Bandara, the campaign manager for cycling/movement and running describes the background to the project.

Why did you go for virtual reality?

Suva uses new technologies such as virtual reality to make prevention work tangible. In addition, these new technologies attract a lot of attention, which is an important factor for the campaign work. In 2018, Suva launched a new bicycle campaign on the topic of "anticipatory driving in road traffic". Because, according to UVG statistics, over 19,000 bicycle accidents happen on Swiss roads every year. The 360° films of the Traffic Department of the City of Zurich are ideal for raising people's awareness of anticipatory riding. That's how the collaboration came about.

Where do you see the greatest benefit of virtual reality in prevention?

With virtual reality, we can strengthen our prevention services. The focus is on people and their behaviour. People can deal with a risk situation in a safe way. The desired behaviour is shown and trained. Thanks to the 360° optics, valuable insights are made that can later be implemented in everyday life.

What were the biggest challenges in the implementation?

The biggest challenge was the usability of the VR glasses. Our customers can order the prevention module with the VR glasses from us and then use them on their own in the company. For this, the handling must be as simple and understandable as possible. Bandara has used its own specially developed software for this purpose, which fulfils precisely this requirement. The current challenge is the implementation at the Swiss Museum of Transport. The "Virtual Reality Velo" visitor attraction has been up and running since April 2019. We would like to offer an unattended theme island next year and are working on a kind of "armoured solution" so that the glasses are not damaged.

What did you learn from these projects?

The projects have shown me once again that it is crucial to work with the right people. In just three months, Bandara, the Transport Department of the City of Zurich, the Swiss Museum of Transport and Suva put together an exhibition. The project was incredibly fun. I am looking forward to further collaboration.

What have you achieved with virtual reality so far?

Our main goal was to make people aware of anticipatory cycling and to reach a broad mass. The prevention module was fully booked for months and the 10,000 visitor mark at the Museum of Transport was recently exceeded. We can be very satisfied.

Source: Bandara