Birmingham tenders for 3D ‘wayfinder’

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has put out a tender for a 3D virtual reality system for its new hospital.

The trust has advertised for a £300,000 virtual way-finding system that will allow users to interact in a “computer simulated environment which is based on actual buildings, their contents and the environment surrounding them.”

The tender says the trust wants the wayfinder to integrate with its in-house self check-in system, which was implemented in December last year.

It should be able to work out the quickest route to a destination and display a video quality, computer generated walkthrough showing how to get there.

The trust also intends to use the system for orientation purposes and scenario-based training for staff, such as fire drills, major incident training and cardiac team training.

It hopes to have it live before its new hospital, recently named Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, opens in June 2010, so that staff can learn their way around and be in a position to help patients.

The tender is for a three year contract to supply communication and multimedia software development services, training software development services and graphics software development services.

The tender notice states: “The trust requires the application to be available in various formats including web-based, CD/DVD, hand-held devices and touch screens. It must provide user friendly menu screens using the latest technology and language options must be included.

“It also needs to include an easy operation administration package, which allows destinations to be permanently or temporarily closed or rerouted.”

The trust will select around six applicants to be taken to the next stage of the tender process at the beginning of August.

UHB tender notice