Firefighter Challenge®: LookOnVRTU Won the First Prize at NIST VR HUD Challenge

Friday, June 22, 2018

LookOnVRTU Won the First Prize at NIST VR HUD Challenge

The winning team in the Virtual Reality Competition for Firefighter Safety

We are proud to announce that VRT-U in collaboration with LookOn Media has won first place at the National Institute for Standards and Technology’s (NIST) 2018 Virtual Reality (VR) Heads-Up-Display (HUD) Navigation Challenge for First Responders. After narrowing down all competitors through four stages only six teams were invited to present at the Public Safety Broadband Stakeholders (PSCR) Annual Meeting in San Diego and to compete for a share of the total purse of $125,000. The PSCR team awarded a joint first prize to LookOnVRTU and ENGR Dynamics with both teams scoring 89 points for a winning tie.

Our winning HUD solution guides firefighters to find the victim as quickly as possible and to evacuate the victim through the fastest and safest path possible. This solution dynamically adjusts the best route based on obstacles, fire hazards and other changes in the environment while safely guiding the rescue team through smoke, haze, and complete darkness.

In designing the HUD Navigation UI, LookOnVRTU consulted with Dr. Paul Davis, the President of First Responder Institute, to select and prioritize the most important features. Upon seeing the demo video, his response was “This is ground-breaking!”.

First responders are exposed to great risks and put their own lives in danger to rescue others. Reducing that risk is the number one goal of all first responder teams. Having been able to provide a solution that improves the safety of those firefighters fills us with great pride. We look forward to continuing working with the first responder community to implement solutions that save lives.

For more information on Virtual Reality for firefighters click here

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Dr. Paul O. Davis, Ph.D., FACSM

Dr. Paul earned his doctoral degree from the University of Maryland, School of Public Health, Department of Kinesiology where he placed major emphasis on the study of occupational fitness requirements and the quantification of work physiology. His dissertation on the energy costs and oxygen/lactate kinetics of structural firefighting was the first published study of its kind.

He has consulted for a number of law enforcement

organizations, including the NYPD, DEA, US Secret Service, Pennsylvania State Police, US Marshals Service, IACP and the FBI. Projects of note have included the development of job-related physical performance and medical standards for a number of law enforcement agencies. Dr. Davis has also conducted in-depth studies of the requirements for SWAT, K-9, and industrial security positions. Most recently under contract to FOH (Federal Occupational Health) he designed the entry and graduation criteria for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), IEAs (Immigration Enforcement Agents); the largest-ever hiring initiative (n=5,000). In another FOH contract he was part of an elite team tasked with a year-long embed study in the Southwest for the US Border Patrol to mitigate workers comp injuries.

As a consultant to the US Navy, he validated the Marine Corps’ PT test through a comprehensive JTA (job task

analysis) of essential functions in amphibious, jungle, desert and high altitude, cold weather operations.

An internationally recognized authority on the subject of

fitness standards and equal employment opportunity issues, Dr. Davis has participated in over 70 legal proceedings as an expert witness. In the seminal Lanning v SEPTA case, he won the accolades of the presiding federal judge as “the

preeminent expert on physical performance standards.” He has appeared on behalf of such organizations as the U.S. Department of Justice, OSHA, Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission, and the FBI, as well as many other state and local governments. He has also testified before the House Select Committee on Aging regarding performance-based health and fitness assessment and submitted invited testimony on Women in Ground Combat for the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Dr. Davis is a member and fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and holds that organization’s highest level of certification. He has authored over 200 technical reports, manuals, articles and most recently co-authored with Dr. Bryan Sharkey the book: Hard Work, dealing with his research on the relationship between human physical performance factors and health.

His professional accomplishments were recognized with a Governor’s Citation for the State of Maryland. He is a inductee of the Fire Heritage Hall of Leaders, Legends and Legacies.Consistent with his lifelong commitment to promoting first responder health, fitness, and readiness, Dr. Davis is well known for creating unique public safety competitions including: the Firefighter Combat Challenge® (now in its 32nd season), the L.E.O.P.A.R.D. (Law Enforcement Officer Performance and

Reaction Drill), the World SWAT Challenge, the Army's Best Ranger Competition and the newly recreated Military Battle Challenge®. Throughout the years, these programs have

received very wide televised coverage on the ESPN, Discovery, A&E, CBS, NBC and ABC television networks and, as the creator and expert commentator, Dr. Davis provides color

commentary.