Virtual reality
The promise of the real
Philip Mason talks to West Midlands Fire Service about its ongoing roll-out of the
cutting-edge XVR virtual reality solution, which it uses to train its incident commanders
for life on the reground
As anyone who has been taking notice of the
emergency services technology sector in the
past few years will know, two of the solutions
currently taking o in a big way are VR
(virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality).
ese are topics that have been covered a couple of times
in the press lately, for instance Leicestershire Fire and Rescue
Service’s use of ‘photo realistic’ VR to train personnel in
re investigation. Tech company Black Marble, meanwhile,
is likewise busy developing not only ‘portable’ AR control
rooms, but also methods through which crime scenes can be
investigated virtually in real time.
Another area in which the technology is being used,
however, is to help emergency services personnel prepare
for life on the front line. is could be police ocers (as
demonstrated by companies such as the American Street
Smarts VR), or reghters such as those in the West
Midlands, who are in the process of a shift to virtual reality to
support incident command ‘blended’ training.
Create your own world
Up until this point in its history, West Mids Fire and Rescue
Service’s primary method of training its incident commanders
away from the reground has been via the use of a videobased
simulation system. According to David Robertson of
the organisation’s command development centre, however,
while this has been perfectly serviceable – allowing candidates
to make operational command decisions – it is not quite as
‘immersive’ as virtual reality.
“Our current solution essentially consists of a series of pod
rooms showing video clips up on the wall, which change
according to whatever scenario we’re trying to train for,”
he says. “For instance, if it’s a house re, we can show the
situation getting worse or dying down, as well as giving
people the opportunity to walk around the dierent rooms,
obtaining a variety of views of the same incident.”
He continues: “Saying that, while the solution is certainly
eective, it’s dicult to picture the reality of an actual
incident because there are no reghters or appliances to look
at, other than the avatars which we position up on the wall.
“Ultimately, those involved in the training need to see
everything happening, particularly in the Fire and Rescue
Service environment, which historically has attracted people
who by their nature are incredibly hands-on. ey’re doers –
that’s their learning style.”
at being the case, West Mids is currently in the
process of rolling out a virtual reality suite provided
by a Dutch company called XVR Simulation. Unlike
the aforementioned Leicestershire FRS solution, RiVR
(which uses ‘photogrammetry’ software combined with a
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