October 20, 2020 10:26 am
Who we are
We are RiVR (Reality in Virtual Reality) and we provide room scale Virtual Reality training environments for blue light services. We use cutting edge technology to produce photo realistic training scenarios. Our next generation training techniques, encapsulating realism and repeatability, enhances the speed at which humans learn and retain skills.
Why VR?
The power of VR makes training far more effective than traditional methods. In VR, your brain is much more receptive to what is happening around you and interactions are more realistic. This improves how you learn. VR is scalable, so in addition to being an incredibly powerful training tool, it provides significant costs savings, crucial when budgets are under pressure.
What is the background of the team?
Our multi-discipline team is comprised of leaders from many sectors including training professionals, AAA game developers, ex-police staff, camera experts, and VR technologists.
Who is it for?
We can deliver training for any role or skill required by blue light services, including fire investigation, crime scene inspection, and Mobile Command Units. We are approached to use our service in new ways all the time. Most recently, we created a road safety experience for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, a bit like a modern day VR Green Cross Code.
How do you capture scenes for VR?
For one of the fire investigation scenes we carefully photographed and choreographed a burn in a controlled environment, with our partner Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service we produced a fire with a specific ignition point in this scenario candle was the cause. Once the fire is put out and everything has cooled down we photograph the room from every angle, they carefully remove each piece of debris and digitally scan it. Once the room is empty we scan the room again, which allows the trainee to move the photorealistic objects out the way giving you the ability to investigate the scene like you would in the real world.
We then precisely recreate the room in a virtual environment, making sure everything is in the exact place we found it. Then we collaborate with Paul Speight and his team to create a realistic, interactive scene from that data.
Once the VR scenario is set up, we allow training in the environment. A trainee can investigate the scene, move objects out of the way, kneel, dig into ash & rubble, all while being assessed by a qualified trainer. The trainer can observe in VR or on a standard monitor/tablet.
Digitising real world equipment
We scan equipment into our scenarios which exactly matches kit used in the field. Equipment can vary significantly across the country, so it’s important to use the specific tools your service depends on. We envision a future where training for handling a road traffic accident, for instance, is standardised. But for immersion, it’s vital to provide training for the exact kit professionals will use.
Benefits
Muscle memory! The realism of VR allows the brain to learn and develop muscle memory for repetitive tasks, and establishes a deep rooted knowledge of how and where items are used within an environment.
Scene reset / repeatability
Our scenes can be reset, meaning you can restart the scenario at any point. It also safely allows for mistakes.
Standardised training
As more services use VR, best practises and a knowledge base will become established. Everyone will be able to share, and train on, the latest method of fire investigation or incident command.
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Risk mitigation (hazardous enviroments)
Trainees can virtually enter hazardous scenarios safely and repeat/reset scenes at will.
What is the future of VR and training?
VR is already a proven, powerful training tool. However, as technology advances, our scenarios will become even more realistic. Tech such as force feedback gloves will allow you to “feel” an object in the virtual space. VR training will simulate real world interactions even more closely, but without the high costs of real world training and eliminating the danger encountered in high risk professions.
Conclusion
VR training is an extremely powerful tool for blue light services and RiVR are proud to be leading the way. We love working closely with the emergency services and delivering training with impact. The best way to understand how VR can make a difference for you is to experience it. We will be exhibiting at the Emergency Services show at the NEC on 20-21st September 2017 so stop by, or get in touch at https://www.rivr.uk/.
To see more videos you can visit www.RIVR.uk. We will also be exhibiting with Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service at the Emergency services show at the NEC in Birmingham on the 20th-21st September where you will be able to have a go first hand on the VR training experiences and also see our new product ‘tutor cam’ allowing any number of observers to also be in the virtual world watching what the trainee is doing.
