Resources Technology Showcase 2021: Perth company Sentient using gaming technology to improve mining

Virtual reality experiences are taking the video game universe by storm, but can they be used for more than just entertainment?

Perth company Sentient has developed a virtual reality game called “Extreme Rock Breaker” which you can play at this year’s Resources Technology Showcase at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre today and tomorrow.

Guardian, project manager and minister of fun Leonie Yann said the game showed people how easy it was to use virtual reality to solves problems in the resources sector.

“Sentient uses gaming technology to solve various problems for the resource industry, we create digital twins of sites to accurately visualise and consolidate customer data to one central, real-time software package,” she said.

The company will also have an augmented reality experience at their booth, where participants can scan a QR code and be taken on a journey through the stages of the “Pit-to-Port” mining process.

But problem solving isn’t the only thing this gaming technology is capable of.

Ms Yann said the online and virtual reality training packages help employees learn processes, familiarise themselves with sites or equipment, and practise responding to emergency scenarios.

“We also develop powerful and interactive presentation tools to facilitate better conversations and communication between mining companies and our traditional owners,” she said.

According to Ms Yann, this technology is beneficial for many people, considering most of us find the “learning-by-doing” training approach to be the most effective.

“We would like to share the accessibility of the latest technology with the event’s guests and broader public so they can see how easy virtual and augmented reality are to use and navigate,” she said.

Virtual reality platforms have also become hugely popular amongst the younger generation.

Ms Yann said she hopes to build awareness among students, families and educators around what future workplaces could look like by constantly looking for new ways to solve problems using gaming technology.

“We hope the future always holds the latest and greatest technologies for us [and] we want to stay on top of all the amazing tech that is revealed each year, so that we can continue to develop tools that will help any workplace, in any industry to work better.”

The Resources Technology Showcase is free, and is open on June 21 and 22 from 9am – 4.30pm at PCEC.

For more information visit rtsperth.com.au.