Japanese School adopts a VR Treadmill for Fire Evacuation Drills.

To make virtual reality play a bigger part in professional drills of disaster prevention, the JeSU(Japan Esports Union) conducted an experimental demonstration training, adopting KAT Walk mini S into VR fire evacuation drill at Kiryu No.1 High School on January 25th. Eighteen esport club members in the school participated in the training and experienced the simulated evacuation.

As shown above, one of the trainees is experiencing the fire evacuation drill in VR on the KAT Walk Mini S and with a VR headset. As the billowing smoke rises from the canteen on the first floor in the simulated scenario, she evacuated from the scene of fire by following the instructions projected in the headset, and using her own legs to escape the 'danger' in a highly realistic, yet completely safe environment. Adoption of VR treadmills in simulated training scenarios allows to greatly improve the performance and provide practical knowledge that is remembered by the user as a true memory, rather than a theoretical rule.

The VR scenario was developed by the JeSU, which aims to put it into systematic and practical use, allowing students to learn how to safely evacuate in the simulated fire scenario. The deputy director who experienced the drill in VR said, "The simulated scenario was so real, I think it will be useful because it is impossible for us to practice evacuation in real disasters."

Yet again, virtual reality and VR treadmills prove themselves to be so much more than gaming devices, with true potential to improve our safety awareness and save lives.