USECON received the eAward for the research project SHOTPROS
USECON launched the EU-funded research project SHOTPROS in 2019 and implemented it together with 13 partner organizations over 3 ½ years. An innovative virtual reality (VR) training solution and training curriculum for European police officers was developed in the project. SHOTPROS received the eAward, the most important business prize for digitalization in Austria.
International cooperation from practice, business, technology and research
The goal of the project was to better prepare European police officers for the stress of high-risk operational situations and to improve performance and solution-oriented decision-making through appropriate training. To achieve this, a multidisciplinary consortium was formed to develop an ideal training solution based on the needs of the end-users, the results of scientific studies and state-of-the-art technology. USECON, as coordinator of the highly endowed European research project, was responsible for the project management, communication, commercialization strategy as well as the development of strategic tools for decision makers in the police environment. In coordinating the police end-user:s, USECON put 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 consisted 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 cross-border 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.
For USECON and many of the partner organizations, the journey continues – Follow-up projects and commercial exploitation of the results are planned. The international network from the project forms a solid basis for these plans.
Overview of the project results
