Victorian paramedics have announced they are going to use virtual reality to help train front line staff. It will better protect them from violence when responding to an emergency. The “Occupational violence prevention education program” is the first of its kind for Australian emergency services.
Russell Francis, CEO of Aussie e-learning company Velpic, which recently announced it was delving into virtual reality with the imminent release of a VR training app, said: “This is a fantastic and progressive initiative by the Victorian government. One of the fundamental benefits of VR is that the immersive experience can simulate hazardous situations with out putting anyone in real danger.”
Velpic, one of the first learning management systems to do VR, has developed a unique online platform that provides a scalable, cloud-based training, induction and education solution for businesses. The platform allows businesses to create their own training lessons and distribute them to staff and contractors, who can access the Velpic platform on all devices including mobile phones and tablets. The cloud-based platform has global potential and is set to disrupt the traditional Learning Management System (LMS) marketplace, and Velpic already has an extensive list of ASX 200 clients using the platform.
How will VR help in workplace training?
“The immersive simulations can be made to be very real in look and sound and thus give an extremely life-like training simulation that can be repeated over and over again without any danger to the trainee. This is similar to what the aviation industry has been doing for decades with flight simulators but whereas they cost multiple millions, a VR lesson can be completed within a Google Cardboard head set costing only a few dollars,” Russell explained.
“Workplace training in hazardous industries is the first wave of VR training making way for mass adoption for VR Training for everything from an introduction to the office before your first day to how to operate the coffee machine. VR is now a genuine option for anyone looking to create workplace training. Education is the perfect use case for VR with its safe, effective, immersive experience to train people with highly realistic simulations. Better preparation through immersive VR training allows trainees to understanding escalating situations and work out in complete safety strategies to avoid violence,” he added.
What other applications can VR be used for?
Russell believes VR will be initially used for orientation to new building and workplaces, introductions to new jobs, product training and then evolve into simulation of any real world situation the content creator wants to send their trainees into.
“There is no limit to the possibilities. This does not mean the end for traditional training but due to greater engagement from trainees, better results and cost reductions, VR will begin to take up a significant portion of a companies training budget in the near future,” he said.
“Entertainment is causing a great deal of interest in VR, however I believe that this will splinter. Like 3D TVs in the past, VR movies wont take off with the current technology and will be just a “flash in the pan”. Gaming however will be huge and within a few years will probably become the mainstream way to play top end gaming titles.”
