VR simulator lets European Mining Engineering students practice drilling safely
A virtual reality simulator will allow Mining Engineering students across Europe to practice drilling and blasting collaboratively and safely.
European Mining Engineering students will soon be able to practice drilling and blasting safely and collaboratively using a new virtual reality simulator. The project, funded by the Unite! Seed Fund, was developed by researchers from UPC, PoliTO, TU Graz, and WUST, and is coordinated by UPC professor Marc Vallbé.
Next Friday, 14 November, at 10:30 a.m., the TechLab of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) will host the presentation of the first prototype of a virtual reality simulator for training in drilling and blasting. This prototype has been developed within the framework of the MineXR project, led by the UPC and funded by the Unite! Seed Fund.
This immersive simulator has been designed to enhance the practical training and safety of Mining Engineering students across Europe, allowing them to carry out drilling exercises in a fully virtual, risk-free environment. In addition, the platform enables real-time collaboration among students from different European universities within a shared virtual space.
During the presentation at TechLab Manresa, attending students and faculty will have the opportunity to test the prototype for the first time and provide feedback that will be crucial for the tool’s final development. The event will also feature the participation of researchers from the project’s partner universities — TU Graz (Austria), Politecnico di Torino (Italy), and WroTech – Wrocław University of Science and Technology (Poland) — and will mark the start of a technical development workshop taking place over the weekend.
The MineXR Project: Virtual mines for safer mining education
The MineXR project, coordinated by Marc Vallbé from the Department of Mining, Industrial and ICT Engineering at the UPC and professor at EPSEM, aims to transform Mining Engineering education through the use of immersive Extended Reality (XR) environments.
This interdisciplinary initiative brings together experts in mining, computing, pedagogy, and remote sensing to create realistic virtual mines where students can practice and experiment in a gamified environment, promoting teamwork and interaction between universities beyond the limitations and risks of physical space. The project promotes a safer, more engaging, and collaborative form of education that takes full advantage of new technologies.
“MineXR aims to offer future Mining Engineers a practical and safe learning experience, enhancing student engagement and improving learning outcomes through immersive technology.”
The set of XR tools and simulations developed through MineXR will be integrated into the Metacampus platform, where it will be available as an open resource for all mining departments across the Unite! universities. This infrastructure will also support the development of international collaborative online learning (COIL) programmes, enabling students from different countries to train together within the same virtual environment.