2/5/2025 | 3:30 PM - 5:10 PM | Grand Peninsula D

A collaborative virtual reality environment module for active shooter response training and decision making

Author(s)

Sharad Sharma | University of North Texas
Pranav Moses | University of North Texas

Abstract

Emergency response and active shooter training drills and exercises are necessary to train for emergencies as we are unable to predict when they do occur. There has been progress in understanding human behavior, unpredictability, human motion synthesis, crowd dynamics, and their relationships with active shooter events, but challenges remain. With continuing advancements in technology, virtual reality (VR) based training incorporates real-life experience that creates a “sense of presence” in the environment and becomes a viable alternative to traditional based training. This paper presents a collaborative virtual reality environment (CVE) module for performing active shooter training drills using immersive and non-immersive environments. The collaborative immersive environment is implemented in Unity 3D and is based on run, hide, and fight modes for emergency response. We present two ways of modeling user behavior. First, rules for AI agents or NPCs (Non-Player Characters) are defined. Second, controls to the users-controlled agents or PCs (Player characters) to navigate in the VR environment as autonomous agents with a keyboard/ joystick or with an immersive VR headset are provided. The users can enter the CVE as user-controlled agents and respond to emergencies like active shooter events, bomb blasts, fire, and smoke. A user study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of our CVE module for active shooter response training and decision-making using the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ), Presence Questionnaire (PQ), System Usability Scale (SUS), and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Questionnaire. The results show that the majority of users agreed that the sense of presence intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy was increased when using the immersive emergency response training module for an active shooter evacuation environment.