Police departments in Colorado use augmented reality to help officers work through scenarios
Colorado police departments are beginning to use the new frontier of technology to better train their officers. The Colorado School of Mines Police Department was one of the first in the nation to work with a local company to fine-tune augmented reality software to help officers work through unlimited scenarios.
"Resources are thin, and this gives us a lot more opportunity," said Colorado School of Mines Police Chief Dustin Olson. "It's in our environment and we tailor the scenarios to real-world problems or challenges we face on campus."
Chief Olson says it was an alumnus from Mines who reached out looking to work with the department. Soon the team from Avrio was fine-tuning its AR software.
"Avrio is a machine learning data science company that focuses on augmented reality training for first responders," said Alicia Caputo, the CEO of Avrio.
Or in terms more understandable she says, "We provide training for first responders by using the coolest, most advanced tech possible. We take your actual space and we augment it by putting in things like hazards, explosives, people."
The technology can map any space and immediately implement real-world scenarios. If a facility has already been mapped the opportunities expand even further. Artificial Intelligence can produce different scenarios every single time.
"Most of our training is done with four to six officers at a time, multiplayer is key," Caputo said. "It really advances your muscle memory so that you can see a whole building and see where you are."
"We've run the gamut, certainly active shooter but focusing on de-escalation skills, and working with folks who may have a mental health challenge," Chief Olson said. "Really it's up to the imagination for how far you want to go with that."
