The humanitarian organisation offering free VR training for militaries
At Novatech, we work with a lot of technologically advanced organisations developing the VR training of the future.
But it’s not often that we come across one that provides its services totally free of charge.
We recently had the opportunity to speak with Christian Rouffaer, Head of Virtual Reality at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The ICRC develops VR training for any military that needs it, helping them integrate international humanitarian law into their training curriculum.
We wanted to find out why the VR unit was set up, how the training works and who it’s for.
Training militaries in humanitarian law
Started in 2014 by Christian and two other colleagues as a project to educate militaries on humanitarian law, the virtual reality unit today has grown into a fully-fledged department developing training projects for militaries, police and first responders across the globe.
“Battles today are never done in the middle of farmlands with no civilians around. Combat in urban areas is the future of warfare,” Christian explains.
So, the ICRC has designed its training with that in mind.
“Let’s imagine you’re training fighter pilots to operate aeroplanes and hit their targets. You can easily train them very well in doing that,” Christian says.
“But what our training also does is try to make them fully aware of the law so that they can take the right split-second decisions in the heat of battle. That’s much more complicated than just operating a plane.”
This includes giving them the right training tools to make decisions under pressure.
“Let’s imagine the pilots see that next to the target there is a school bus full of children,” Christian says. “They have the order and a legitimate target. But now they also have an understanding of humanitarian law and the ability to question that order.”
Making the training as close to real life as possible
A key part of facilitating real learning and behaviour change is making the training interactive and as close to real-life scenarios as possible.
“We add to our simulations elements that are in the news today,” Christian explains. “For example, elements from what’s happening now in Ukraine, such as suicide drones and massive usage of indirect weapons in populated areas.”
But making simulations as close to real life as possible also includes adding the same pressure and time constraints that soldiers face in the field.
“Especially when looking at the decision-making process for commanders,” Christian adds. “You want to add some element of stress.
“For example, we are currently developing something that’s quite complex. It’s an entire city with a civilian pattern of life, so it has electric grids and a water system. And you’re the drone in the sky circling it.”
But while there are legitimate targets to hit, the scenario is set in an urban area. So international humanitarian law needs to be taken into account.
“Do you have two hours to call the lawyers and ask all the questions? Maybe. Maybe not. So, this is what we introduce in our simulations.”
It’s not a magic pill
“If you look at most armed forces today, they are massively investing in simulation and digital training,” Christian says. “Hundreds of studies prove that it’s effective. The proof is in the pudding.”
But it’s important to note that the training isn’t a magic pill or silver bullet solution.
“You can spend twenty years training armed forces but when they go to war, you still might not see the direct link between the training they receive on humanitarian law and their actual behaviours,” Christian says.
“This is because maybe they’ve been ordered to do ABC and they don’t have the capacity to question the order. Maybe they have PTSD. So it’s all about that human factor. You might not necessarily get the behaviour change that you expect.”
Helping countries that need it the most
So, who exactly is the training designed to help?
“Training simulations are most commonly deployed in the Northern Hemisphere in rich and powerful countries,” Christian says. “But that’s not necessarily where the need is the most.”
In other places in the world, the price tag is often too high to justify.
“What we’re seeing is this big inequality in training between the rich countries that have these huge training budgets, and the others,” Christian says. “That’s why all the simulations we develop are provided for free to whoever needs them.
“I hope that our work will help to democratise the technology. Nothing is secret. We’re always very happy to share information and answer questions on what we do.”
Thanks to Christian for taking the time to speak with us.
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