Can XR make training for firefighters safer and cheaper?

15th of February 2024 ✍️ by Bjørn Morten Steimler

This was one of the questions we sought to answer together with Bergen Fire Department in an innovation project. Extended Reality or “XR” is an umbrella term that encompasses virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) technologies. Our hypothesis is that virtual training can be beneficial for training decision-making, dangerous procedures, or when training is impractical. Together with Bergen Fire Department, we wanted to look closer into training on tunnel fires. XR allows them to do this training without exposing themselves to dangerous environments and without having to stop traffic while training. From a technological point of view, we also wanted to see how/if haptic technology could be used to increase the effectiveness of virtual training.

Preparation for Training

The activity is intended to result in a sub-deliverable that allows the pilot customer to conduct training preparations and practice the execution of procedures before a situation is mapped out and the crew is ready to engage. Users can practice collaboration during preparations while assigning specific roles and concrete tasks.

Maximizing Training Outcome

In this activity, a scenario-building system will be developed, and the results of the previous activities will be combined into one so that users only need to interact with one platform to complete total training.

And the conclusions?

We firmly believe that XR has its place in firefighter training. This project has demonstrated that training in XR can be relevant, engaging, and useful. We will continue to focus our development on making Fynd CORE the preferred platform for training on volatile situations in dangerous environments. This project is concluded, but we are selected by FIRE RES (part of the European Union's H2020 research and innovation program) to work on XR training for Extreme Wildfire Events.