Virtual reality
have to be pre-programmed, and we can also control certain
things in real time. We do all the work, including providing
the voices of characters within the scenario, which is actually
quite similar to our current system where we have to role-play
everything. XVR is brilliant, but it’s not Call of Duty on
thePS4.”
He continues: “In terms of the testing process itself, we
measure against the national operational guidance for incident
command, combined with what’s known as WM7, which is
essentially the role map for incident commanders. We always
designed with that in mind, giving them ways to gather
intelligence, identify potential risks and so on.
“ere’s nothing worse than assessing someone against how
well they piece together information but not giving them
enough information to gather in the rst place.”
With that in mind, does he ever have the urge to create
particularly challenging scenarios in order to test candidates
to their fullest capability? Is it always necessary to ‘play fair’,
as it were? “No, we don’t do that, because that really wouldn’t
achieve anything within the context of the test environment,
and it would also be unfair. We need to ensure that we are fair
and unbiased towards all candidates, and on a personal level
we would like to see them all do well.
“Having said that, candidates do occasionally approach
the test thinking that we’re deliberately trying to trip them
up. at’s just what some people are like. In those cases,
people can lead themselves in the wrong direction by making
Environments
are rendered
entirely using
graphics
rather than
‘photogrammetry’
One thing that VR can never replace,
however – going back to the subject
of being ‘hands on’ – is the experience
of using a re hose, or wearing
breathing apparatus
assumptions that we’ve set traps for them, which again is
something we would never do. ere would just be no point.”
It’s clear that being able to train in the absolutely safe ‘360
degree’ environment provided by virtual reality is extremely
useful, not only in terms of the variety of potential scenarios it
opens up, but also with regard to what is generally referred to
these days as ‘creating eciencies’. At the same time, however,
there are still questions to be asked about becoming overly
reliant on the technology, not least because of its potential for
changing reghters’ relationship with risk.
Robertson says: “It’s certainly valid to ask the question, but
for me, being involved in any simulation has the potential to
change someone’s view of risk. at could be in the virtual
reality suite, or on the reground itself. One thing that VR
can never replace, however – going back to the subject of
being ‘hands on’ – is the experience of using a re hose, or
wearing breathing apparatus, or of cutting open a vehicle with
a Holmatro. is is something we need to be mindful of.”
He continues: “e biggest issue we currently have is how
the reghters interface with the system itself, in that some
of them are just unable to stand still once they’ve got hold of
the controller West Mids uses control units co-opted from
Microsoft’s Xbox game console.
“As you can probably imagine, it’s quite dicult to talk to
someone who keeps running around you in circles, which is
what they tend to do, particularly if they’re gamers already.
We try and encourage people to nd a good spot, put the
controller down, and just deal with the incident.”
Virtual reality is an extraordinary technology, enabling
emergency services organisations to train their personnel in
ways that just a few years ago would have been unimaginable.
Add to that the imminent possibility of using it while
communicating the experience in real time using broadband,
and you have the possibility of a truly game-changing solution
with any number of use-cases.
34 www.criticalcomms.com June 2019
/www.criticalcomms.com