National Highway Institute Using Virtual Worlds for Bridge Training

Although this was posted over on Govloop, I thought I’d repost here because it is so relevant to the public works industry. For some time, we’ve been advocating for the use of virtual worlds for training, design, and networking in our industry. And now it seems there is finally a sign that the technology is not only being implemented, but also accepted. Although there have been some uses in the past that we’ve highlighted here in this blog, this time the class is being delivered by the National Highway Institute – a hallmark institution with a long history in the industry. And if the interview embedded below is any indication, it looks like the use of virtual worlds might quickly become a standard training method among engineers and other professionals in the industry. You can also check out and sign up for the NHI classes at this link: http://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/about/innovationseries.aspx. It sounds like the bridge class will be ready to go in the near future.

Here’s a link to the full interview: Meredith Perkins talks Virtual Worlds with Chris Dorobek