CHILDREN in Newport helped to develop a new virtual reality app aimed at educating youngsters about road safety.
The free mobile game - called Virtual Road World - was created with the help of schoolchildren from the city, as well as the University of South Wales.
Cardiff University's Dr Catherine Purcell, along with students at the university's faculty of Computing, Engineering and Science, collected data from more than 200 youngsters aged between seven and nine from schools in the city, while around 100 schoolchildren gave feedback on the look and feel of the game.
The app immerses users in a virtual environment where they need to complete a series of quests requiring them to cross roads as they find their way around a virtual city. By playing the game children learn how to safely navigate roads, traffic and crossing points.
Dr Purcell said: “The app has been developed not to replace but to support and enhance existing road safety educational practices.
“Through our research we know that educating children using illustrated books or kerbside practices can be highly time and resource intensive. We have utilised technology to upskill children in their understanding of road safety."
READ MORE:
Thirty-seven children on average are injured seriously, and one fatally, on UK roads every week and worldwide, preventable road traffic accidents represent the second largest cause of death or disability for children aged 5-14 years old.
“The more children get into the game, the more opportunity they have to understand the risks and make safer decisions about where and when to cross the road,” said Dr Purcell.
(Virtual Road World)
“I hope that the app will now prove a fun and successful way of supporting road safety education for children of this age.”
Dr Purcell was awarded a grant of £67,468 from the Road Safety Trust to research and produce the app.
Sally Lines, chief executive of the Road Safety Trust said: “Virtual Road World goes beyond 3D video and games for entertainment, offering a fun and accessible way to help children choose safe road crossing sites in the real world.
“We believe it can make a difference to keeping children safer on the roads.”
To access the app, search ‘Virtual Road World’ on the Apple Store.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here