Problem Description

In case of an accident involving several people, the Red Cross sends special emergency forces who have not only medical knowledge but strong organisational skills as well. Before these emergency forces arrive at the scene of the accident, however, it is the first responders from the Red Cross who temporarily take over this task. In order to practise the role of temporary head of operations, elaborately designed exercises are used to train personnel for large-scale operations. The planning and preparation of these exercises are very resource-intensive.

Therefore, our objective was to develop a VR application that can be used to train these scenarios in a virtual format. We wanted to find out whether VR can offer a reasonable alternative to resource-intensive real training scenarios.

Implementation

We implemented a VR application for the HTC Vive that allows staff members of the Red Cross to practise operational command in a safe environment. In this context, they have to recognise potential hazards and use a fast-track procedure to classify which patients are in a critical state and therefore in the most urgent need of help. An essential component of this training is the communication with the rescue coordination centre: the participants of the training have to continuously communicate how many affected and injured persons there are, and to call in further emergency personnel accordingly, or to warn them of potential dangers. Another advantage of the VR application is that a training situation can be generated which is the same for every participant.

Associated material (images, videos, etc.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFQ8otEpRgc