Australian first responder training company Real Response has created the BlueRoom Simulator, a mixed reality system which allows Navy, Army and Air Force medics to learn how to use real medical equipment and navigate complex medical scenarios within a virtual environment.
BlueRoom Simulator utilises the latest mixed reality (MR) headset, the Varjo XR3, to allow medics to enter a virtual environment where they can still use their hands and body to interact with real world objects in the environment.
Real Response explains that unlike virtual reality (VR), where controllers are required to interact with the digital world, MR allows users to enter the virtual world as themselves, and to practice physical and fine motor skills just as they would in the real world. This is particularly useful in areas such as medicine, where medics need to physically practice, building muscle memory as they learn how to treat a patient in a range of austere environments from field operations, remote hospitals, helicopters, aircraft and onboard ships.
“BlueRoom reimagines the possibilities for simulation - a student can be placed into any environment and a trainer can manipulate the scene and adjust the patient's condition all-while the student is performing interventions using their own hands with real equipment," co-founder of Real Response and a registered paramedic, Ben Krynski said. "This is truly revolutionary."
According to Real Response, the BlueRoom Simulator allows medics to practice in 'high value' and difficult-to-access environments at a 'small fraction of the cost'.
Some examples include enabling medics to insert an IV and draw up medications in the back of a C130J Hercules as they fly across the Pacific Ocean, or insert a chest tube as they prepare to takeoff with a patient in the back of a Blackhawk UH-60.
The BlueRoom Simulator was created with support from the Defence Innovation Hub, which invests in innovative technologies to enhance Defence capability and grow the Australian defence industry and innovation sector.
Real Response says it is continuing to develop and refine this capability, creating new virtual environments where medics can practice their skills, and is also exploring other use cases for this technology with a range of industries.
“The BlueRoom Simulator can also be used to solve a lot of the training problems industries such as mining and telecommunications have," Solution Architect, Dale Linegar explains. "You can do practical, hands-on training in environments that might otherwise be dangerous, expensive or impractical, such as working at heights, or in confined spaces.”