"Good Practice for Emergencies" Yongin City Senior VR Safety Training Gains Popularity

Disaster Response Training at Senior Welfare Centers in Three Districts

"At first, it was awkward and difficult, but once I got used to it, I lost track of time." “The feeling of being pushed by the crowd back and forth in the performance hall is really realistic."

Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province has been receiving positive responses to the virtual reality (VR) safety education for seniors conducted at three senior welfare centers in the city since this year. This education, targeting seniors aged 65 and older at the Cheoin, Giheung, and Suji Senior Welfare Centers, has been fully booked early for each session.

Elderly people are receiving safety education using virtual reality (VR) at a senior welfare center in Yongin.
[Photo by Yongin City]

In the education, seniors indirectly experience VR scenarios such as quickly checking emergency exits and evacuation routes when crowds suddenly gather or a fire breaks out in multi-use facilities, and moving according to the direction of crowd flow.

The education also teaches how to respond by experiencing specific disaster situations in VR, such as using public transportation or facing dangers from heatwaves and cold waves. Emergency situation practices such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation and airway obstruction relief (Heimlich maneuver) can also be experienced through motion recognition equipment.

Jeong Tae-seon (84), who lives in Pogok-eup, Cheoin-gu, said, "Having lived a long time, I realize these things exist." He added, "At first, it was awkward and unfamiliar, but after trying it a few times, it felt really realistic as if I were at a performance hall, and it was a good practice to prepare for emergencies."

Last year, the city conducted education in six major safety areas?▲daily life safety ▲traffic safety ▲natural disaster safety ▲social infrastructure safety ▲crime safety ▲health safety?using VR for 3,000 elementary school students in the region. Starting this year, the target audience has been expanded to include students, infants and toddlers, adults, and seniors.

To this end, the city signed agreements with three senior welfare centers last year. The city provides professional instructors and VR equipment, while the welfare centers recruit trainees and provide classrooms. The city explained that starting this year, the device specifications have been upgraded to widen the video rotation angle to 360 degrees and enable motion recognition, enhancing immersion.

The city plans to expand safety education to various fields, including voice phishing crime prevention education, by conducting visiting safety education at village senior centers in the future. A city official said, "As we enter an aging society, the need to systematically address senior safety issues has increased, so we will continue to provide education using VR devices to help seniors respond to emergencies."