Co-designing Game Training Solutions to Improve Safety in the Agricultural Sector: Insights for the Correct Use of Foldable Roll-Over Protective Structure

Promoting the correct use of Foldable-Rollover Protective Structure (FROPS) could significantly reduce the rate of injuries due to tractor roll-over accidents. Recently, multimedia technologies, including the application of gaming components during learning activities, have allowed the development of more engaging safety training and education. Based on this, the “Safety is a serious game” project aims to develop a prototype of a gamified tool based on ergonomic requirements to train farm operators in identifying tractor rollover-related hazards and correctly operating the FROPS. The present contribution reports the first results obtained. An ergonomic participatory approach was used to co-design the graphic content and features of the gamified training tool. One workshop session was conducted with students from the Departments of Agricultural Studies of the University of Torino. The session was structured into two main phases that allowed, respectively, the detection of motivating game elements that can be used to develop the digital visual interface and the definition of the storyline that players/workers would like to see/play in the game. The results showed that workshop activities made participants collaborative, effective, and creative. Eight main game features were highlighted as important components for the new game development: the open world, customization, health points, maps, time, graphics, quiz, and dialogue with non-player characters. Based on these results, a list of user-centred requirements was developed to design a prototype of a gamified training tool aimed to enhance the current use of FROPS and prevent injuries or fatal consequences in case of roll-over accidents.