Participants in EMRTC’s courses for first responders benefit from witnessing detonation events as part of field labs. Field experience allows participants to connect classroom content to an event they see, hear, and feel firsthand. Currently under development, field labs will be enhanced even more through the use of virtual reality.
EMRTC’s broad goal is to integrate virtual reality technology into multiple courses. Breaking up a 4 hour course with multiple modes of instruction helps participants stay engaged. With cutting edge technology, field labs can now train course participants to interact in multiple response environments in a way that can nearly replicate the actual physical settings they would be responding in. While current field labs will continue to provide first responders the unique experience of witnessing an actual detonation firsthand, the expansion of field lab capabilities with virtual reality will elevate the training experience to a whole new level.
Current field labs will be augmented by participants coming back to the classroom and through virtual reality, experiencing a recreation of what they witnessed. For instance, when first responders view an event during a field lab, logistics limit them to seeing just one space or just one vehicle. With virtual reality, EMRTC can now allow participants to view the same detonation they saw in the field in multiple simulated spaces where they can better realize the magnitude of destruction.
EMRTC will also apply virtual reality technologies to include training concepts that are covered in courses but until now have been unfeasible to include in field labs. For instance, the homemade explosives field lab has been limited to participants searching two rooms. With virtual reality, participants could now role play and search an entire school building or shopping mall in a virtual environment.
With these enhancements, course participants can more fully apply classroom lessons through scenarios where they make decisions and practice how to respond to stimuli in various environments. Imagine participants interacting in a simulated apartment where via immersive technology they are scanning rooms, picking up items, and responding to popup questions. Subject Matter Expert Dan Langford commented, “Placing participants inside environments where they get to decide about IEDs/ precursor chemicals, etc. will be hugely beneficial for them, providing them the invaluable experience of having searched an environment for suspicious objects.”
Environments simulated via the virtual training system include indoor environments such as a high school, shopping mall, and business, as well as outside venues like street scenes. Included within each of these environments are typical first responder tools and equipment as well as a library of the threats associated with training missions. Examples include IEDs and their components, precursor chemicals, and manufacturing indicators associated with the production of IEDs and HMEs. With a scenario editor, EMRTC personnel can create, edit, and present various virtual incidents using this library of environments and assets.
Working with V-Armed, EMRTC is constructing a virtual trainer, making use of New Mexico Tech’s existing infrastructure. This 50×50 foot space includes a mounting system for a fixed camera system with motion capture technology. Within this training environment, a standalone virtual reality system allowing six degrees of freedom was developed. This system includes multiple integrated stations. One station allows for system operation and monitoring, including scenario operation and editing. A second station prepares trainees to be immersed in simulation, and a third station is designated for review of the completed scenario from multiple perspectives including first person, body camera, system camera, or the instructor’s monitoring perspective.
Up to 8 participants at a time can engage in scenarios designed to replicate tasks they would perform in actual response environments. This video from V-Armed demonstrates a simulation in de-escalation. These scenarios incorporate immersive virtual reality technology with impressive capabilities including eye and head tracking as well as full body movement tracking, tracking of objects (ie: weapon system or other tool), and the ability to vary the environments. As an example, students are trained to divide environments into multiple components, from the ceiling to the floor to ensure they scan the entire room. The eye tracking technology could help participants review what parts of the room they actually scanned visually. In addition, metrics that indicate how long they spend in each room are invaluable. Fatigue when scanning environments can cause responders to reduce the time they scan later rooms, and data indicating length of time participant spend in each room would help them identify whether they consistently spent the same duration searching each environment. The technology involved in the VR system is advanced enough to capture biometric data such as heart rate and pupil dilation for the individual wearing the headset.
Equipment includes multiple camera stations, a computer system for tracking, and headsets and wrist and ankle monitors. The wearable devices are easy to take on and off and require minimal calibration, helping to decrease the turnaround time between sessions. This model helps to maximize the time participants spend engaged in learning course content.
