The EU-funded HEART-VR project, implemented in collaboration with project partners the Emergency Education Institute, Weltenmacher, LAVAlabs, and the Entertainment Computing Group at the University of Duisburg-Essen, is developing an innovative VR training solution that uses AI-powered, realistic scenarios to specifically train emergency responders to communicate empathetically and act confidently even under emotional stress.

The goal of the project is to develop a novel training environment that strengthens emergency responders’ professional, social, and communication skills in realistic and emotionally demanding operational situations. Especially in high-stress situations, empathetic interaction with patients plays a central role alongside medical expertise, as does the ability to cope with emotional strain and foster one’s own resilience over the long term.

Previous training approaches, such as simulation-based exercises with actors, are often time-consuming, only somewhat realistic, and difficult to implement—especially in sensitive scenarios, such as those involving children. It is precisely such highly emotionally charged situations that can trigger trauma in inadequately trained personnel during real-life operations, and emotional overload can also lead to poor decision-making when dealing with patients. Heart-VR addresses this issue by using immersive virtual reality technology to create flexible and realistic accident scenarios. A central element is the AI-supported, natural-language interaction with virtual characters, which reacts dynamically to the users’ behavior and can also realistically simulate challenging or unfavorable mission scenarios. Furthermore, unlike existing methods of emergency training, this development does not focus solely on technical expertise, but places special emphasis on human, emotionally authentic interaction with patients.

This interactive and adaptive training environment enables emergency responders to practice managing emotional stress in a targeted manner and to improve their confidence in handling situations in the long term. The interdisciplinary collaboration among the project partners brings together expertise in emergency education, technology development, and immersive media. By developing the software in close collaboration with the target audience, a human-centered approach to software development is ensured.

Project Funding

NEXT.IN.NRW
ERDF/JTF NRW 2021-2027 program 🇪🇺

Partner

​​​	LAVAlabs Moving Images GmbH & Co. KG, Düsseldorf https://www.lavalabs.de/
​​​ ​	Notfallpädagogisches Institut GmbH, Essen https://www.notfallpaedagogik.de/
​​​ ​	Weltenmacher GmbH, Düsseldorf https://weltenmacher.de/

Contact

​Marius Grießhammer, M.Sc.