Police achieve success in researching VR for CPR training
This year the paper: the police of tomorrow and the day after tomorrow' was published. One of the key points to emerge from this was that we must continue to invest in 'a digitally capable police force that is permanently innovative'.
The importance and challenge of police CPR
The Digital Learning & Development (L&O) Team of the Dutch police takes the lead in this with research and deployment of digital techniques such as VR (VR) augmented reality (AR). One success story is the development of a VR application to teach CPR. Police are often the first on the scene when a life-threatening situation such as cardiac arrest occurs. Therefore, every officer at the Police Academy learns how to perform CPR and this knowledge is periodically updated through classroom training. However, organizing this is a logistical challenge and causes officer who is on training to be (temporarily) undeployable.
The team had experience using VR for shooting training and saw opportunities in using this technology in CPR training. They set the goal of developing an application where anyone could learn CPR.
From life-threatening to life-saving
The team had experience developing shooting training in VR with the application "VR Danger Zone. The positive experience caused the team to think of technology when the issue related to CPR came up. In converting the training to a mobile version, the first collaboration with Utrecht-based VR Owl got off the ground.
Together with VR Owl, VR training was worked on in close collaboration with the Dutch Resuscitation Council. Colleagues were involved from all corners of the organization to provide feedback. Even the partner of one of the team members, who works in the cardiology department, was involved in the development process. Short sprints, valuable feedback ánd evenings spent on the road to a very valuable application.
Insights and practical solutions
Throughout development, assumptions such as "people quickly grasp how VR works" were debunked, requiring onboarding to suddenly take on a much larger role. Practical issues such as the lack of doll for practicing compressions were solved simply; fold an Ikea pillow in half and you have almost the same resistance as a chest.
In addition, experimental techniques such as hand tracking came on the market, eliminating the need for controllers. This provided more realistic training but created new challenges such as one hand "disappearing" once both were placed on top of each other.
The need for research
A study on the effectiveness of VR training is lacking but concrete results are essential to the adoption of the technology among police, according to the team. Therefore, the team set up a study in collaboration with Ronald Tieman, Sheila Baas, University of Twente, the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen and the Nederlandse Reanimatie Raad. The goal was to investigate whether VR CPR training is a suitable alternative to standard classroom CPR training and whether there is an optimal sequence for both training types.
The design of the study
The study was conducted with 50 people who were randomly assigned to two groups. They were tested for their "ready" knowledge before training and then received first classroom training and then VR training, and vice versa. Between training sessions and tested at the end by examiners from the Dutch Resuscitation Council.
The results of the study
The study found that certain actions, such as the position of the hands and how far the chest is pressed, can be learned just as well through VR training as classroom training. Things like "overall performance" and respiratory rate are better when standard training is done first.
Further development
The positive results of the study and feedback from colleagues keeps the team on the front lines of immersive learning opportunities and applications. In the coming months, this topic will be further explored and researched in collaboration with educational institutions and students. Moreover, collaboration, knowledge sharing and even applications are being shared even at the European level.
The future of immersive learning in the police
For many police tasks, VR seems to be a wonderful learning tool. Think of the training of hardskills such as the use of the firearm, baton or taser but also soft skills such as conducting a bad news conversation or training de-escalation techniques.
Opportunities abound and, moreover, the support of the men and women on the street is great. It is up to the government, together with the top police officers, to realize their own ambitions; invest in innovative techniques and make sure the police are digitally ready. Because that not only makes learning more fun and effective but also contributes to fulfilling a core task of the Police; 'to provide assistance to those who need it'.
