Measuring Presence and Performance in a Virtual Reality Police Use of Force Training Simulation Prototype

In this paper we describe a virtual reality training simulation designed to help police officers learn use of force policies. Our goal is to test a training simulation prototype by measuring improvements to presence and performance. If successful, this can lead to creating a full-scale virtual reality narrative training simulation. The simulation uses a planner-based experience manager to determine the actions of agents other than the participant. Participants’ actions were logged, physiological data was recorded, and the participants filled out questionnaires. Player knowledge attributes were authored to measure participants’ understanding of teaching materials. We demonstrate that when participants interact with the simulation using virtual reality they experience greater presence than when using traditional screen and keyboard controls. We also demonstrate that participants’ performance improves over repeated sessions.

[1]  Kurt VanLehn,et al.  The Behavior of Tutoring Systems , 2006, Int. J. Artif. Intell. Educ..

[2]  Mel Slater,et al.  A Virtual Presence Counter , 2000, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[3]  R. Michael Young,et al.  Annie: Automated Generation of Adaptive Learner Guidance for Fun Serious Games , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies.

[4]  Robert T. Hays,et al.  Simulation Fidelity in Training System Design: Bridging the Gap Between Reality and Training , 1988 .

[5]  Robert A. Sottilare,et al.  Automated scenario generation: toward tailored and optimized military training in virtual environments , 2012, FDG.

[6]  Shawn A. Weil,et al.  From Gaming to Training: A Review of Studies on Fidelity, Immersion, Presence, and Buy-in and Their Effects on Transfer in PC-Based Simulations and Games , 2005 .

[7]  Mark O. Riedl,et al.  Dynamic Experience Management in Virtual Worlds for Entertainment , Education , and Training , 2008 .

[8]  G. Riva,et al.  Being There: Concepts, Effects and Measurements of User Presence in Synthetic Environments , 2003 .

[9]  David L. Roberts,et al.  A Survey and Qualitative Analysis of Recent Advances in Drama Management , 2008 .

[10]  F. Brooks,et al.  Physiological Reaction as an Objective Measure of Presence in Virtual Environments , 2001 .

[11]  Michael J. Singer,et al.  Measuring Presence in Virtual Environments: A Presence Questionnaire , 1998, Presence.

[12]  Boyang Li,et al.  Automated Scenario Adaptation in Support of Intelligent Tutoring Systems , 2011, FLAIRS Conference.

[13]  Olusola O. Adesope,et al.  Intelligent tutoring systems and learning outcomes: A meta-analysis , 2014 .

[14]  Allen Newell,et al.  Report on a general problem-solving program , 1959, IFIP Congress.

[15]  Michael Young.  Planning in Narrative Generation : A Review of Plan-Based Approaches to the Generation of Story , Discourse and Interactivity in Narratives , 2015 .

[16]  Jonathan Stevens,et al.  The Relationship between Presence and Performance in Virtual Simulation Training , 2015 .

[17]  Robert Michael Young,et al.  Narrative Planning: Balancing Plot and Character , 2010, J. Artif. Intell. Res..

[18]  Stephen G. Ware,et al.  Glaive: A State-Space Narrative Planner Supporting Intentionality and Conflict , 2014, AIIDE.

[19]  Vadim Bulitko,et al.  Interactive Narrative: An Intelligent Systems Approach , 2012, AI Mag..

[20]  Richard Fikes,et al.  STRIPS: A New Approach to the Application of Theorem Proving to Problem Solving , 1971, IJCAI.

[21]  P. Williams,et al.  Learning by Doing , 2004 .