More safety in Shunting operATIONS: Gaze training with smart glasses
To prevent incidents during shunting, ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) utilizes cutting-edge technology to train its employees: Specifically, VPS Smart Glasses track employees’ gaze during shunting movements and identify any distractions. After a 15-month pilot phase, the project “Augen:Blicke – Eye Tracker Training” became the first training program using smart glasses to be introduced into regular operations.
Since we introduced eye tracking training in 2022, safety in shunting has improved substantially. We’ve seen a nearly 50% decrease in unauthorized signal overruns.
Background and task
Where many tons of freight wagons are coupled daily the human factor is crucial: about 75% of all irregularities in shunting are caused by humans. The job requires maximum focus from workers. If they are distracted or miss potential hazards, it puts their safety at risk on the tracks. Material damage can quickly reach hundreds of thousands of euros if trains are coupled incorrectly or signals are overlooked. For ÖBB Infrastructure AG, enhancing initial and ongoing training in shunting was a logical consequence — to boost staff attentiveness and improve safety.
Approach
During training, the smart glasses record the field of view and pupil movements of shunting staff. Trainers can observe their colleagues’ activities live through a video stream. Thanks to gaze-point visualization, trainers can identify potential distractions or misjudgments in real-time stream. Real-time transmission enables targeted support to employees during operations.
Even more detailed analyses are possible when reviewing the recorded video together with the trainer. Gaze patterns in the video indicates where attention was focused and suggests way to improve focus. The video remains stored as a personal training video for the employee; afterward no additional data is kept.
The VPS Smart Glasses were customized to meet the needs of railway operations. With the “live heatmap” feature, users can see in real time which areas and objects draw the most attention and which ones receive less focus.
“The safety of our shunting employees is our top priority,” says Florian Pfeffer, Head of Safety and Emergency Management at ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, Operations Division. “Training with the eye-tracking smart glasses shows very positive learning effects and supports our teams in safe shunting operations.”
Concrete figures confirm the success: Since introducing Smart Glasses in 2022, unauthorized signal overruns decreased by 44% from 2023 to 2024. “A milestone! With the help of digitalization, we have improved our safety performance,” says Pfeffer.
“We are very proud that with our Smart Glasses we can help ÖBB take accident prevention to a new level,” says Nils Berger, founder and CEO of Viewpointsystem. “The success of the training shows that advanced technology works best when it is specifically designed for the users and their needs. Easy, intuitive operation and high comfort are key to making sure smart glasses are used willingly and regularly.
results at a glance
Since the start of training: unauthorized signal overruns decreased by 44%.
VPS Smart Glasses are seen as comfortable and and unobtrusive, without being complicated.
Positive learning effects: employees’ self-awareness of what they perceive — and what they do not perceive — leads to a sustainable and positive learning experience.
Option to extend the eye tracking training to all Austrian shunting locations
