XVR Community Contest – Winner!

XVR Community Contest – Winner!

Honourable mention – Coach bus water rescue scenario / Safety Region Noord-Holland Noord

Our honourable mention was submitted by Safety Region Noord-Holland Noord. It features an incident in which the driver of a coach bus suddenly feels unwell and drives the bus off a pier and into the canal, where it starts to sink. It being market day, the pier is full of market stalls and bystanders. The coach driver manages to exit the bus and is pulled out of the water by the bystanders, but it is unclear how many passengers were still on the bus. The participant assumes the role of officer in command of the diving team and must coordinate the rescue of the remaining passengers using divers. The main objective of the exercise is to train clear and efficient communication between the participant, the divers and the incident commander on site, with the option to start additional injects such as the use of a rescue boat or a diver in distress.

The judges were very impressed with the “dressing” of the environment, which looks almost entirely custom-built due to the clever use of objects, path objects and localisation of local architecture. The scenario contains a lot of different events and tasks to promote interactivity, adding to the immersion and furthering the narrative. Everything is neatly categorised and colour-coded, and the delivered documentation is also clear and easy to use for other users, including the suggestions for possible injects and tasks.

Runner-up – Water rapids rescue scenario / Estonian Academy of Security Sciences (EASS)

In this exciting scenario submitted by the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, the participant is faced with a water rapids rescue incident, something which frequently happens in the Estonians forests as rivers flood in the springtime. Canoe campers get in trouble trying to navigate the fast-flowing water, and in this exercise, 6 canoes with 16 campers have set out on a trip when the rapids prove too difficult to pass through. The second canoe capsizes before their designated end point. Several campers have ended up in the water and have sustained injuries or are developing hypothermia. One camper is missing. The participant assumes the role of the incident commander on site, facing the difficult task of getting medical and rescue crews deployed to save the victims through a very inaccessible and large environment. The risks to the participant’s crew include the treacherous waters, which flow both high and fast, as well as the low water temperature, which demands fast action for the casualties. Finally, the participant must somehow divert the remaining canoes heading towards the accident site.

Here we have a very novel way of using XVR On Scene to simulate an incident that is otherwise almost impossible to train in real life. The surroundings have been made life-like by using the 3D importer to depict vegetation and boulders. The judges awarded extra points for the creative manner in which the rapids were created, using spray objects on top of a river path object, as it increases the sense of realism immensely. The customised events and task logic have been neatly categorised, and all add to the narrative and immersion of the training experience. The full script (though in Estonian) was thorough and precise. One of the detractors was the size of the file, which affected performance slightly and it was therefore not possible to upload it to the XVR Community site.

Winner! – High school fire / Fire & Emergency New Zealand

The winning scenario depicts an escalating fire at Bayfield High School in New Zealand. An accident the science lab has resulted in a fire that is spreading rapidly through the second of the three-level building. The students and teachers are in the process of being evacuated, but not everyone is accounted for. It is later confirmed that at least three students, of which one is physically disabled and uses a wheelchair, and 3 teachers are still inside the building. While the school has fire protection, the water pressure and flow in the mains is restricted due to tuberculation build-up, and a water main replacement was commenced earlier in the week. The participant assumes the role of the Charlie officer in command, and among the training goals is being able to identify the necessity of switching the tactics established by the Alpha officer in command, establish a reliable water supply, account for all civilians, and consider other hazards from the materials contained in the science lab. At the same time, role players portraying the frazzled headmaster (who also requests if, next to saving the students, the firefighters might also save a piece of art in one of the hallways), a police officer, and a media representative also demand attention, information and decisions from the participant.

It is obvious to the judges that a lot of work has gone into creating a realistic environment with many custom objects, object creators and sounds (incl. ambient sounds). There are also many custom events and tasks. While performance sometimes suffers because of this, the result is a stunning scenario that is believable, thorough and contains different options for alternative injects and storylines, such as a crew member going missing in the smoke. The continuously escalating situations require the participant to keep their cool and stay on top of the developments. The script is clear in its descriptions and overviews of roles, injects, etc. The judges concluded that the extensive learning goals, the evolving challenges and escalation of the narrative, and the creative and realistic environment were the deciding factors in awarding this scenario first place.

A big congratulations to Fire & Emergency New Zealand! We hope you will enjoy the Meta Quest 2 VR goggles.

Another big thanks to everyone who submitted – and continue to submit – their work to the XVR Community website. Your submissions enhance the user experience for your colleagues around the world, making the XVR experience even richer.