Forklift Driving Performance of Novices with Repeated VR-based Training

Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising tool for training novice forklift drivers, but temporal patterns of such improvements are largely unknown. We trained 19 novice participants using an order-picker VR simulator on a selected driving lesson. In two sessions, participant driving performance was assessed using task completion time and kinematics of the head, shoulder, and lumbar spine via inertial measurement units (IMUs). Completion time and head flexion/movement decreased significantly (up to 22.4% and 31.5%, respectively). The observed changes in head motion (flexion/extension) indicate an initial adjustment period to prepare a mental model of the driving task and the control panel, which was also adapted over repeated trials. One implication of our results is that reduced head flexion/extension could be used as an indication of a novice driver’s improved skill during the early stages of training, in terms of familiarizing themselves with vehicle control and the vehicle control panel.