Immersive Crisis Training: Features, Observations and the Shift From Traditional Crisis Exercises

ABSTRACT This article provides insights from the 'Lessons from the Field' perspective into crisis training using virtual reality (VR). Conventional crisis simulations often involve costly in‐person events, limiting accessibility and effectiveness. VR technology has emerged as a promising alternative to overcome these challenges. This article delves into the application of VR in crisis management training, examining real‐world exercise examples, and presenting innovative experimentation. A comprehensive experiment, grounded in real‐life exercise scenarios, was conducted to gather feedback from participants. The findings demonstrate the efficacy of VR in replicating crisis training environments, providing an innovative solution to simulate real‐world use cases. These results suggest that investing in VR research and development can significantly enhance training opportunities for public safety agencies.