Research and development services and related consultancy services

Tender description

Network Rail are issuing this periodic indictive notice (PIN) to gather an understanding of what the market has to offer in the area of extended reality (XR) technology (virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) for the training of on-track plant operators and machine controllers. This information gathering will assist Network Rail with the development of their extended reality training requirements before potentially going out to tender. Interested parties will have the opportunity to engage with Network Rail and present their views and potential solutions. The solution should: — be able to accurately reflect the type, controls and layout of a range of on-track plant used by NR and its contractors, — make use of extended reality technology so training and assessment can occur in a safe environment removed from the operational railway, — interface with NR Competency management systems (for training records we use Oracle), — be able to handle a range of real life and customised scenarios based on the requirements of the criteria for competency for a range of on-track plant, — facilitate hazard perception/awareness. The operation of on-track plant in a railway environment requires multiple roles to work together as such the solution should be able to: — enable more than one person to interact in the same extended reality environment at the same time, for instance the operator (driver) of the on-track plant and the controller (observer/look-out).