The growing threat of domestic terrorism in the US demands a heightened level of preparation and readiness for first responders across the nation. To fulfill this need, V-Armed partnered this April with the Department of Energy to provide a week of Virtual Reality training in radiation threat response to Philadelphia public safety personnel. V-Armed installed a temporary VR training system in a multipurpose gymnasium that could support 6 simultaneous participants in a 1,500 square foot space.
Over 120 police, fire, and other responders participated in multi-person VR training covering a variety of objectives. Responders were introduced to the operation and use of realistic Personal Radiation Detectors (PRDs) that respond to test sources placed in the virtual environment – giving trainees real-world experience in the measurement and response to hazardous radiation threats.
Radioactive materials are used in a variety of medical and industrial instruments, so preparing first responders to understand their risk, identify hazardous materials, and mitigate impact to themselves and civilians are vital skills for holistic public safety organizations.
Traditional coursework using only real-world scenario-based training has many different shortcomings:
- It is terribly inefficient as simulated sets must be constructed and only a few different scenarios can be run each day, limiting exposure and variety of experiences and situations.
- It is resource-intensive, requiring many live role-players for suspects, civilians, and others, and in simulated ammunition and other materials.
- It’s not realistic, relying heavily on the imagination of the trainee to immerse themselves into the situation.
- It’s very difficult to produce a variety of radiation sources simulating radioactive emissions of specific materials.
With Virtual Reality simulation, especially with the flexible tools and capabilities of V-Armed, these shortcomings are no longer an issue. Using the DISPATCH software and V-Armed custom-developed VR radiation assets, trainers are able to create a custom and flexible set of virtual reality curriculum. One or multiple trainers can engage with responders in VR, and trainees are provided with a wide variety of impactful and relevant experiences that can better prepare them for situations in the field.
Across the week of training, the participants engaged in radiation-based scenarios like active-threat, radiological theft, crowd control, de-escalation, hazardous materials identification, PRD usage and strategies, and many more.
Interested in how V-Armed can enhance your training program and elevate the readiness of your responders like no other tool? Contact us now to schedule a demonstration.
