14 million people in the UK have some form of disability or accessibility need. 700,000 people with autism in the UK [means] 3 million family members who live with that and have to manage it, and I’m one of them. So I know just how difficult travel can be. Sometimes it’s just too hard. So you just don’t travel and you don’t do things that you would want to.”
Mark Robinson has worked in railways his whole life, and has learnt just how important good public transport, and access to it, is for helping people to live independent, productive lives. His team at Chrome Angel, with partners Totem Learning, have developed a virtual reality video game for rail operator Northern to support people building confidence to travel.
“The idea is actually quite simple – to build a virtual reality simulation of taking a train journey. The objective of the game is you want to travel somewhere, and you have challenges to overcome. What we’ve tried to do is simulate this journey and the assistance provided by Northern to make it feel realistic, like you’re actually there to experience all the different things that you’re going to have to do. So that someone who wants to travel but doesn’t have the confidence to do it, can safely experience that, and build up confidence.
Read the full article on the Connected Places Catapult’s website.