HCI Issues, Design and Development for a First Responders VR Training System on Dangerous Goods Transportation Incidents

Bruno Emond, Jean-François Lapointe, Max Kinateder, Eric DeMarbre, Maxine Berthiaume, Irina Kondratova, Natalia Cooper, Noureddine Bénichou, Stephen Downes

Abstract: This paper reports on our progress in the development of a virtual reality (VR) training environment where novice first responders in remote areas are acquiring situational awareness and procedural knowledge for the management of dangerous goods transportation incidents. Our research and development efforts aim to address the problem of providing engaging, realistic, safe, and cost-effective means to train first responders. The adopted process includes conducting requirements analysis in partnership with key stakeholders, as well as the design, development and empirical evaluation of the VR system with sufficient autonomy to support multiple use cases, realistic scenario variations, and real-time feedback during scenario execution.