A scalable MR-training system to prepare military and civil experts for crisis areas

The goal of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is strengthening the civilian and military crisis management. Optimally prepared personnel are essential to efficiently meet security challenges and actively work towards conflict prevention and peace keeping. Several EU initiatives and training institutions across EU Member States help prepare personnel for these challenges. Involved stakeholders are civilian, military, and police personnel as well as representatives of government institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In crisis situations, effective collaboration among stakeholders is vital. Deployed personnel require extensive skills including monitoring, mediation, situational awareness, intercultural competence and first aid skills. Personnel deployed in crisis zones are required to make decisions under extreme stress. Currently, training programs typically combine theory with practical components such as role plays and simulation exercises. However, real-world simulations often fall short of realistically replicating crisis scenarios due to organizational and financial constraints. Additionally, especially dangerous situations cannot be safely recreated, further limiting the realism and effectiveness of such training. Virtual and mixed reality technologies offer promising new possibilities for simulating crisis areas and for training personnel in a realistic and immersive way. Such technologies allow personnel to engage in training with minimal logistical burden. They provide scalable, cost-effective, repeatable and immersive training, reducing dependency on large-scale physical simulations. SkillDrill provides an innovative MR framework, providing learning modules to develop and train essential skills such as mission planning, situational awareness, map reading and advanced first aid for self-aid and buddy care, in an immersive way. Depending on the trained skill, the system offers different layers of immersion (digital, VR, MR). Building upon the results of the end-user requirements and methodologies described in (Broneder, 2024), this paper will describe the current state of the SkillDrill system as well as the first results of the end user tests.