The first week of June saw the first-ever combined LearnPro Group User Group Meeting. All users of the full LPG product suite – XVR, pdrPro and learnPro – were invited to attend our main event of the year together. Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue Service provided the backdrop when over 120 attendees from more than 50 organisations within the UK and Europe joined us for two days packed with the latest software developments, exciting use cases presented by our customers, engaging breakout sessions and, of course, lots of opportunities to network, exchange experiences and have some fun.
Day 1 – Training emergency services using Virtual Reality
The first day was mainly dedicated to our VR training software for incident command, XVR. The product team presented the upcoming release of On Scene, renamed On Scene 10, which contains a range of optimised features, among others for hazmat training, a new Photo Mode for developing visually educational material – and an exciting update to the user interface. We were also pleased to share that the Wildfire module developed some years back has been rebuilt in a way that will allow users of any experience level to create simulated yet realistic wildfire scenarios. XVR On Scene 10 is scheduled to be released in winter 24/25, and we will be sharing more details about all the exciting new features and developments as we get closer to the release date.
We were also fortunate to have several guest speakers share their experiences with using the XVR platform.
– Katherine Lamb of K Lamb Associates discussed the importance of gathering data to document knowledge and skill gaps between incident command levels, thereby being better able to provide the right training and support. In her research, Katherine gathered data from numerous fire services which proved that particularly Level 2 commanders are often not properly equipped to take on their new responsibilities – and where these gaps lay.
– Matthew Hurwood of Yorkshire Ambulance Services shared their journey on implementing XVR into their training curriculum and reaching out to the XVR community for input on best practices. Their goal is to provide their staff with more “sticky learning” experiences and better prepare them for difficult or complex incidents.
– Tom Redfern of Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service showed the group how he uses 3D modelling software and tools such as Blender and LiDAR to generate realistic 3D models of local Liverpool landmarks and buildings to place in XVR scenarios, thereby enhancing the sense of realism and recognition for his colleagues training in these virtual environments. Tom frequently shares his creations on the XVR Community page and on LinkedIn to help other services create their own 3D objects.
In the afternoon, users could participate in a demonstration of how VR goggles can be used for a more immersive training experience, provide direct feedback on the new XVR User Interface, and get hands-on experience with some of the features that will be launched later this year.
