Recent evolutions in Virtual Reality (VR) technologies are creating new business opportunities. Training and certification is one area of application that can benefit greatly from these advances and has the potential to become the mainstream approach to training in the future.

PERFECT will capitalize its consortium R&D labs prior knowledge in VR, human performance and human physiology wearable sensing into joint efforts to approach this enormous future potential market. It aims to be the first step towards the creation of highly reliable multisensory virtual environments for training and simulation that deliver Perceptually equivalent stimuli and thus enable the certification of trainees using only VR technologies.

For the past 4 years, within the scope of MASSIVE project (RECI/EEI-II/0360/2012) INESC TEC has created the MASSIVE – multisensory virtual reality laboratory, developed a fully integrated multisensory framework and the authoring tools that aim to create Authentic Virtual Experiences (AVEs), which we term Real Virtuality. Although many applications do not need a high degree of realism in order for the user to accomplish his/her task successfully, without the authenticity, such Believable Virtual Environments (BVEs) are only capable of delivering “mission familiarity” rather than actual-world experience. In particular, in BVEs some real-world phenomena may be missing, or the physics not accurately simulated which could lead to different knowledge acquisition in the virtual experience than is required in reality. For example, not including the smell of a burning cable behind a control panel may provide the user in the virtual experience with a false sense of wellbeing, which would most certainly not be the case in the real world.

One central aspect of our approach is related with the notion of Intermodal Perceptual Equivalence – achieving the very same cognitive response whether subjects are exposed to real or synthesized stimuli regardless of the levels of duration, intensity or nature. The success or failure to achieve perceptual equivalence will be measured based on behavioural responses. Perceptual equivalence will be achieved when we obtain behavioural responses from the participants that match those observed when subjects are exposed to the real stimuli. This will allow realistic training for decision making and consequently to adherence to the recommended response procedures in stressful situations. As a case study, we have selected Firefighters’ training as an example where an AVE can provide trainees with all the important stimuli needed to make the right decision. In particular a specific task of deciding if a door is safe, or not, to open as the starting point for a first attempt to achieve a PERFECT AVE.

The conclusion of the project will gather and deliver the following main results:

• PERFECT authoring tools for the development of AVE.
• PERFECT physiological signal analysis software integrated with the authoring tools.
• PERFECT Methodology to measure Perceptual Equivalence
• Validation of the methodology

By achieving the PERFECT objectives we will be a step closer to achieve our long term goal and thus have a significant impact on how VR can help people to train in a safer and affordable way while making sure they will perform as expected when faced with a real the equivalent real situation.