SHOTPROS has developed an innovative virtual reality (VR) training solution and training curriculum for European police officers. The project received the eAward, the most important business prize for digitalization in Austria.

International cooperation from practice, business, technology and research

A team of 13 international project partners from police organisations, business companies and research institutions has collaborated for 3 1/2 years in SHOTPROS. They set a strong focus on the user-friendliness of the technological solution. Through the successful collaboration of the renowned partner organizations from science, technology and police organizations, all project goals were achieved.

Final conference and demonstration of results

The project results were presented at the final conference “VR for Police: Drive the Police into the Future” in Belgium. The conference was held on September 14 and 15, 2022 and participants, consisting of police representatives, security policy makers, research and technology representatives from 17 European countries, judged the content to be highly relevant and innovative for their tasks and the planned digitalization of their working environment. More than 130 people attended the event, which featured presentations by over 25 international speakers from academia, technology and users, and interactive workshops on VR as a technological complement in training and policing. In parallel with this program, participants had the opportunity to try out the SHOTPROS VR solution developed in the project under the guidance of an international team of VR police trainers. This allowed them to gain real insights into the potential of the technology and experience user experiences first-hand.

Summary and outlook

The SHOTPROS project is an example of successful cooperation – this was also the conclusion of the eAwards 2022 jury. Therefore, SHOTPROS was awarded the prize in the category education and social, proving once again that international cooperation can lead to great success. To continue this great collaboration, follow-up projects and commercial exploitation of the results are planned. The international VR & Police Network from the project forms a solid basis for these plans.