ERVR 2023: Immersive security personnel training module for active shooter events
This presentation was delivered at the Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality conference (16-19 January 2023) held in San Francisco, CA USA. For more information see: http://www.electronicimaging.org
Title: Immersive security personnel training module for active shooter events [ERVR-217]
Speaker: Sharad Sharma, University of North Texas (USA)
Abstract: There is a need to prepare for emergencies such as active shooter events. Emergency response training drills and exercises are necessary to train for such events as we are unable to predict when emergencies do occur. There has been progress in understanding human behavior, unpredictability, human motion synthesis, crowd dynamics, and their relationships with active shooter events, but challenges remain. This paper presents an immersive security personnel training module for active shooter events in an indoor building. We have created an experimental platform for conducting active shooter drills for training that gives a fully immersive feel of the situation and allow one to perform virtual evacuation drills. The security personnel training module also incorporates four sub-modules namely 1) Situational assessment module, 2) Individual officer intervention module, 3) Team Response Module, and 4) Rescue Task Force module. We have developed an immersive virtual reality training module for active shooter events using an Oculus for course of action, visualization, and situational awareness for active shooter events as shown in Fig.1. The immersive security personnel training module aims to get information about the emergency situation inside the building. The dispatched officer will verify the active shooter situation in the building. The security personnel should find a safe zone in the building and secure the people in that area. The security personnel should also find the number and location of persons in possible jeopardy. Upon completion of the initial assessment, the first security personnel shall advise communications and request resources as deemed necessary. This will allow determining whether to take immediate action alone or with another officer or wait until additional resources are available. After successfully gathering the information, the personnel needs to update the info to their officer through a communication device.
Biography: Dr. Sharad Sharma is a Professor of Data Science and Director of the Data Visualization and Extreme Reality Lab (DVXR) at the University of North Texas. Prior, he was a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Director of the Virtual Reality Laboratory at the Bowie State University. He is an expert in modeling and simulation of human behavior for emergency response and decision making with focus on multi-agent systems (MAS), multi-user virtual reality (MUVR), and mobile augmented reality applications (MARA). He specializes in modeling human behavior during emergency evacuations and active shooter events. He is also involved in the development and evaluation of virtual reality instructional (VRI) and augmented reality instructional (ARI) modules for teaching and training in several applications, including healthcare, education, and evacuation. He has won the "2018 USM (University System of Maryland) Board of Regents' Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Research. He has also won the Presidential Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Research & Grants in 2022 at BSU. He is recipient of the DHS Scientific Leadership Award.
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