Award-Winning VR Training System for Metro Maintenance Technicians

Role: Interaction / UX Designer (XR)
Domain: VR · Industrial Training · MRO
Client: Mumbai Metro
Organization: Tata Elxsi
Recognition: 🏆 This project received a prize for innovation and impact
Platform: Virtual Reality
Timeline: 10 weeks

Overview

This project involved designing and developing an immersive VR-based training system for Mumbai Metro maintenance technicians. The experience was created to help technicians understand complex train components in a safe, realistic, and cost-effective manner, significantly reducing dependency on physical training infrastructure.

The solution was recognised with a prize for its innovation, effectiveness, and real-world impact, reinforcing its value as a scalable industrial XR training model.

Problem Statement

Maintenance technicians often do not have comprehensive familiarity with all train components and sub-systems while performing maintenance tasks. This can result in:

  • Inefficiencies during maintenance

  • Improper handling of sensitive equipment

  • Use of incompatible tools or techniques

  • Incorrect part installation

  • Increased downtime and operational disruption

Traditional hands-on training methods are expensive, risky, and difficult to scale. There was a need for a targeted, immersive training solution that improves component-level understanding while reducing cost and risk.

Objective

The objective was to create a VR-based technician training experience that:

  • Provides hands-on familiarity with intricate train components

  • Enables safe learning without real-world risk

  • Reduces training costs and dependency on physical mockups

  • Improves maintenance accuracy and technician confidence

  • Scales easily for future training needs

Solution Overview

The VR experience offers a full-scale, interactive digital train that technicians can explore in detail.

Key Experience Features

  • Tutorial Mode to onboard first-time VR users

  • Teleportation-based navigation across:

    • Underframe

    • Interior

    • Exterior

    • Rooftop

    • Driver’s cabin

  • Burst Mode Animation to reveal internal components

  • Information panels with specifications, images, and descriptions

  • Multiple train configurations, including:

    • Driving Motor Car

    • Motor Car

    • Trailer Car

  • Lobby-based switching between compartments

This enabled technicians to gain a comprehensive understanding of the entire train, something not feasible with physical models alone.

Scope of Work

  • 3D model optimization

  • VR application development

  • Information labels and data panels

  • User Interface (UI) design

  • Performance optimization

  • Testing and validation

  • Interactive tutorial design

Key Challenges

High-Fidelity VR Performance

  • Anti-aliasing issues in VR were resolved through asset-level optimization and technical rendering techniques

  • Defined a custom quality setting to balance performance without compromising visual fidelity

Information Readability in VR

  • Information panels initially intersected with 3D geometry at close distances

  • Refined spatial placement and interaction logic to maintain readability and immersion

User Familiarization with VR

  • Many technicians were first-time VR users

  • Designed a hands-on tutorial to teach controller usage and navigation

  • Implemented language localization to support local users

Heavy CAD Data Optimization

  • Raw STEP files (~2 GB each) were manually optimized

  • Converted into FBX models of ~200 MB without loss of visual quality

  • This step was critical for real-time VR performance

Innovations & Improvements

  • Custom VR quality settings balancing performance and realism

  • Language localization

    • AI-powered voiceovers in Hindi and English

  • Dynamic content updating

    • Clients can update text, PDFs, and images without rebuilding the application

  • Scalable architecture

    • Designed to support additional train models in the future

Design & Research Process

The project followed a structured design thinking approach:

Empathize → Define → Ideate → Prototype → Test → Develop

This ensured:

  • Continuous improvement

  • Clear communication with stakeholders

  • Alignment with real-world training needs

  • Reduction of unnecessary rework

Best Practices Followed

  • On-site visits and primary research

  • User interviews with technicians

  • Observing live training sessions

  • Deep understanding of demographics and operational context

Being present during actual training programs helped ensure the solution was grounded in real-world conditions, not assumptions.

Visual Accuracy & Documentation

Extensive photo and video documentation of train components was created and shared with 3D artists.

This ensured:

  • Highly accurate 3D models

  • Correct proportions and details

  • Better understanding of internal systems

  • A more immersive and realistic VR experience

This level of precision was essential for effective maintenance training.

Outcomes & Impact

Measurable Business Impact

  • Training cost reduced from ₹50 crore to approximately ₹5 lakh

  • Eliminated the need for expensive physical training models

  • Enabled visualization of internal components impossible in physical setups

Value Delivered

  • Improved technician understanding and confidence

  • Reduced training risk and downtime

  • Created reusable CGI assets for multiple use cases

  • Demonstrated the power of XR for MRO workflows

Strategic Value to Client & Tata Elxsi

  • Served as a proof of capability for industrial XR

  • Opened opportunities in:

    • Digital twins

    • VR-based Learning Management Systems

    • AR-assisted maintenance

    • Remote assistance solutions

    • Interactive 3D visualization platforms

The client expressed interest in expanding the solution into a broader MRO and digital transformation roadmap.

Reusable Assets Generated

All project outputs were designed for reuse:

  • Design documentation

  • Optimized 3D models

  • Source code

  • Testing and validation documents

This ensured long-term value beyond the initial deployment.

Tools & Technologies

  • CAD Exchanger – CAD to FBX conversion

  • Autodesk Maya – Retopology, optimization, UVs

  • Substance Painter, Photoshop – Texture creation

  • Unity 3D – Shading, lighting, application development

  • ShapesXR, Figma, Illustrator – UX, UI, spatial design

Reflection

This project demonstrated how immersive technologies can radically transform industrial training when designed with empathy, technical rigour, and scalability in mind.

Winning a prize for this work validated not only the technical execution, but also the design thinking, real-world impact, and business value of the solution.