XR Training in Challenging Environments: The Wind Turbines Case

Training professionals for challenging environments requires more than immersive simulation. Safety-critical contexts combine environmental unpredictability, spatial constraints, physiological load, and collaborative complexity in ways that fundamentally shape learning and performance. Using wind turbine maintenance as a representative case, this position paper explores how Extended Reality (XR) systems can support training and operational preparedness in such environments. We argue that integrating XR with digital twins, physiological sensing, and adaptive scenario control enables controlled risk exposure and context-aware feedback while supporting collaborative coordination. Building on this use case, we outline design directions for smart XR environments that dynamically adapt to user state and environmental conditions. We further position these environments as experimental platforms for investigating key challenges in mission-critical XR systems, including trust calibration under stress, resilience by design in volatile contexts, and situated explainability through embodied feedback. These directions contribute toward a research agenda for trustworthy XR systems in challenging environments.

Recommended citation: Saad, A. & Voigt-Antons, J.-N. (2026, April). XR Training in Challenging Environments: The Wind Turbines Case. Paper presented at the workshop XR for Challenging Environments: Enabling Human Performance and Agency under Stress at CHI 2026, Barcelona, Spain.