TRAINING FIREFIGHTERS IN VIRTUAL REALITY

Virtual Reality applications have become mainstream, not only for gamers, but also (to a lesser extent) for industry, where they can be used for training in settings that would be too dangerous, or too expensive, to replicate in real life. In this paper we give a description of a recent Virtual Reality application that was built in close collaboration between the Royal Military Academy, the Belgian Navy and industry to allow future fire-fighters to be trained in a virtual reproduction of a ship's quarters. Not only does this development serve to enhance the training syllabus but it also paves the way for future innovation according to the "Triple Helix" concept.