Virtual Realistic Augmented Training
VRAT is an immersive training environment for first responders (FRs) working with hazardous materials (HazMat). VRAT enhances scenario recognition and response-based cognitive agility, providing FRs with the skills, knowledge, and decision-making ability necessary to navigate hazardous situations effectively.
What is VRAT?
VRAT is a software tool which aims to improve how we train personnel to work with hazardous materials (HazMat) and use the equipment and instrumentation employed in related activities. VRAT combines computer generated gaming techniques and accurate scientific modeling to create an immersive Extended Reality (XR), by using a mix of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), or Mixed Reality (MR).
Whether the hazard is a chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear, or energetic agent (CBRNE), training engagement using VRAT enhances scenario recognition and response-based cognitive agility, providing HazMat workers, First Responders (FRs), and Supervision with the skills, knowledge, and decision-making ability necessary to navigate hazardous situations effectively. Create a typical situation or a prior incident for training and validation of problems encountered in real-life. VRAT enables the student to safely learn, practice, and exercise in environments, conditions, and locations which would be hazardous and potentially lethal under real conditions.
Instructors can utilize accurate representation to dynamic environmental conditions, terrain complexities, and material physical and chemical properties simulating the fate and transport of the hazardous substances ensuring realism in action. Incorporation of digital twins of the actual equipment and instrumentation in use, prepare personnel for the tasks they perform. The result is a training environment that not only looks realistic but behaves realistically.
VRAT is a cost-effective training method that prepares all personnel for real-world challenges. The training is instructor configurable, can be operated in single or multi-user modes, requires no purchase of expensive instrumentation, travel to remote locations, and can be repeated over and over without additional costs.
Improve
Improve personnel skills, training options, timelines, and qualifications. Quickly respond to acquisition of new instrumentation, changes in curriculum, or standard operating procedures.
Increase
Increase frequency of training events and number of participants without drastically increasing the budget. Reduce time, support personnel, and travel expenses while supporting numerous training events simultaneously.
Innovate
Innovate creating novel training environments and situations. Recreate real-world events. Incorporate weather, fate and transport, and indications of deadly conditions of hazardous agents to assess student response.
Key Features
- The instructor panel gives an instructor complete control over the training scenario, allowing for the customization of CBRNE sources and the tools available to the students.
- Simulate hazardous, even deadly situations without putting students or your team at risk.
- Multiplayer support for multiple students training together alongside multiple instructors. The players may interact and communicate with one another in order to work together to complete the training scenario.
- Non-player characters can be added to the scenario to perform specific roles to make the scenario more life-like.
- The Student can practice a preloaded scenario, pull down procedures for review, and prepare for testing without the rest of the class.
- Realistic physics simulations ensure that the environment responds correctly to factors such as wind or rain, dispersing contaminants and possibly spreading contamination. Accurately representing the real world presents a new level of training for responders.
- Multiple customizable selectable locations to train in, depending on the situational needs. Whether indoors or outdoors, a warehouse or factory, in the Western or Eastern hemisphere, in an arid environment or an urban city, you can train in the environment in which the work will occur.
- Local hosting options to keep your data securely contained within your intranet, or hosted over the internet to allow for global cooperation.
Instructor “Training Session” Configuration Panel
The Instructor panel allows the instructor to customize the training session, select the hazardous material, add randomness, and select avatars for students. VRAT allows an instructor to assess performance related training tasks from simplistic use of tools or equipment as need to complete initial general employee training, to advanced concepts of command and control for incident command. The instructor selects the environment, conditions, equipment, and students for the training. The instructor can create the environment for the training and assign one student to several students to participate. Additional non-students (Non Character Players, NPCs) can be added to perform assigned duties. Train as a team in our multiplayer scenarios or under the guidance of a virtual instructor.
Location, Location, Location And Environmental Concerns
Select the location of the training from a list of predeveloped sites or create one to meet the current situational needs. The Instructor Panel provides the tools needed to develop a scenario site whether it is indoors or outdoors, in the Western or Eastern hemisphere, in an arid or damp and humid environment, or an urban, city, rural, or deserted local.
Outdoor locations can add weather conditions as well as time of day. The rain will fall. The wind will blow, and the sun move across the sky. Indoors or outdoors, physics matter. If water is present, it will seek the low point, puddling or draining away. Air movement will move contaminants dispersing them and creating fallout in other locations.
Students must apply their training and knowledge to properly combat or work within the hazard conditions. Their actions can lead to further problems. Representing the real world provides a new level of training for responders.
Robust Intranet or Secure Internet Hosting
VRAT can be hosted on an individual PC or through a cloud based server. VRAT fortifies your internal network with a secure, fast, and integrated intranet solution. Operate the program within your company’s secured internet or Bluemont’s VRAT internet hosting.
Tap into the power of global connectivity without sacrificing security, ideal for growing businesses:
- Worldwide Expansion: Go global and collaborate without borders.
- Easy Scalability: Our flexible solutions grow with your business, ensuring a seamless online expansion.
- Unmatched availability and up time for training, practice, or exercises
- Enhanced Security: Your data stays protected on your network, shielded by the latest security measures.
- Custom Control: Tailor your intranet to fit your business needs with complete control over configurations.
- Peak Performance: Experience swift response times and minimal latency.
Reduce The Outlay Of Funding With VRAT
Current costs for HazMat training are huge; training venue preparation, transport and housing of students, safety reviews and oversight, weather restrictions, purchase of surrogate materials. Purchase of equipment and instrumentation, etc. VRAT can reduce and eliminate some of these costs.
Students can be anywhere and only need to have access to the proper computer and XR equipment and your designated server. The training can be performed several times a year, instead of on designated pre-determined and planned dates. Don’t postpone your training because it’s raining or freezing outside due to safety concerns. However, train for those conditions in XR.
Ready for the next day’s class. Today’s scenario can be changed overnight to allow for a different location, hazard, conditions, even recent changes to procedures and protocols. No need for obtaining a Site Safety approved surrogate material that doesn’t really respond or exhibit the high degree of danger normally present to the worker. New equipment, especially large pieces or expensive instrumentation, need not be held up waiting on budget concerns. They simply need to be modeled and everyone in the class can use or work with it simultaneously regardless of class size.
Costs for HazMat training, practice, and exercises are reduced to the point that most small municipalities, local government agencies, and first responder groups can easily afford to participate. They can train alongside their big city and government compatriots enabling All-of-Government exercising at manageable costs and not at the expense of millions of dollars and having people travel from their work areas for days.
Benefits of Using VRAT
| Reduce or Eliminate | Increase |
|---|---|
| Travel, meals, and housing costs for trainees | Number of participants per class |
| Development of unique locations | Number of trainees completing courses in a year |
| Need for additional instructors for observation | Number of unique locations |
| Purchase of hazardous material surrogates | Number of hazards to practice/test against |
| Safety concerns and site safety preparation | Ability to quickly incorporate new instrumentation and procedures |
| Weather impacts | Ability to recreate recent events |
