Padmavathy Kandasamy

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Providing law enforcement officers with improved tools to deliver effective feedback during VR training sessions.

Law enforcement agencies are increasingly adopting VR training to prepare officers for real-world scenarios. However, existing tools fail to provide real-time performance monitoring, detailed analytics, and actionable feedback. This makes it challenging for instructors to effectively evaluate and enhance training outcomes.

Year

2025

Year

2025

Year

2025

Client

Gravity Drive

Client

Gravity Drive

Client

Gravity Drive

My Role

UI/UX Designer

My Role

UI/UX Designer

My Role

UI/UX Designer

Think Aloud Protocol

We chose the think-aloud protocol for our usability testing, conducting sessions where participants verbalized their thoughts as they performed tasks, to gain detailed insights into the user experience.

Participants

We recruited 10 undergraduate and graduate students, representing the platform's target audience, to assess usability across different academic levels.

Session Setup

Each session, lasting 30-45 minutes, was conducted in person or remotely, with participants using their own devices for a realistic testing environment.

Tasks

Task 1: Sign up for a free account and upload a resume.

Task 2: Join a community and add it to the profile.

Task 3: Post a poll within the joined community.

Level of success measurement

Success with major issues

Success with minor issues

Success

Task 1 usability issues

Difficulty in locating the 'Upload Resume' option, no confirmation after uploading, and no auto fill info based on resume.

Usability Issues & Success Rates

Task 1 success rate:

Task 2 & 3usability issues:

Confusion about community features, no membership confirmation, & unclear visibility options for posting polls.

Task 2 success rate:

Task 3 success rate:

System Usability Scale (SUS) Evaluation

The System Usability Scale (SUS) was employed to quantitatively assess the usability of the CN ePortfolio platform. The SUS consists of ten statements rated on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), allowing participants to express their perceptions of the platform’s usability. The overall SUS score for the CN ePortfolio platform was calculated at 53.3, suggesting considerable room for improvement in user experience and interface design.

53.3

Virtual Reality Simulation

Gamification of trainings

Interactive courses

Augmented reality environments

VR group therapy

Mobile app for speech recognition

Chatbot

Exposure therapy

User Flow

Create Ground

Send Gesture

Personalized

Avatar

# Home Screen

# Chat Screen

Draw together

# Add Mood

# My Profile

Create Ground

Shared Calendar

The Gap

However, the experience often feels disjointed. Trainers struggle with fragmented workflows. They lack:

Scenario Customization
Performance Feedback
Engagement and Usability

However, the experience often feels disjointed. Trainers struggle with fragmented workflows. They lack:

Scenario Customization
Performance Feedback
Engagement and Usability

The goal was to enable instructors to track and analyze trainee's performance and provide actionable feedback.

User Goals

The user goal was to give trainers an intuitive tool to customize scenarios, track performance in real-time, and provide detailed, actionable feedback.

Business Goals

The business goal was to create a scalable system that improves training effectiveness, reduces trainer workload, and drives better preparedness across teams by leveraging data-driven insights.

User Goals

The user goal was to give trainers an intuitive tool to customize scenarios, track performance in real-time, and provide detailed, actionable feedback.

Business Goals

The business goal was to create a scalable system that improves training effectiveness, reduces trainer workload, and drives better preparedness across teams by leveraging data-driven insights.

Challenge 01

How might we provide trainers with clear, actionable data to evaluate trainee performance and improvement areas?

Solution 01 Preview

Challenge 02

How might we provide officers with detailed, scenario-specific after-action reports to enhance learning, accountability, and readiness?

Solution 02 Preview

Challenge 03

How might we allow trainers to customize VR training scenarios that align with real-world challenges?

Solution 03 Preview

Research & Discovery

User Research

We conducted qualitative interviews with trainers and trainees, focusing on their day-to-day experiences with VR systems. Key insights included: Trainers needed a dashboard offering real-time insights and Simplify training data for better progress tracking. Trainees sought clear feedback, gamified progress elements, and immersive scenarios replicating real-life conditions.

Competitive Analysis

We analyzed existing platforms (e.g., Axon, VirTra) to identify gaps in functionality and interface design.

Metrics Definition

Essential performance metrics were defined, such as reaction time, situational awareness, stress management, and accuracy. Biometric sensors like eye tracking and heart rate monitors were integrated to capture real-time data.

User Research

Competitive Analysis

We analyzed existing platforms (e.g., Axon, VirTra) to identify gaps in functionality and interface design.

Metrics Definition

Design Solutions

Schedule a training session for the trainee

Performance Statistics, After Actions Report, Scenario Customization

Trainee Directory, Session Insights, Video Recordings

Final Product in VR

My Achievements

10+ Research Papers studied and analyzed

Analyzed 5+ top VR training Platforms

Interviewed 5 law enforcement Officers

Conducted 4 Concept Evaluations

Contacted 40+ Police Departments

Explore

􀎭

Home

Store

Events

Games

Devices

Settings

Explore

􀎭

Home

Store

Events

Games

Online Courses

Chatbot

Devices

Settings

Problem identified: Users felt that the app is little overwhelming and its hard to figure out the navigation as a new user.

Solution: Introducing the chatbot feature to help navigate the app.

Problem identified: In the initial VR prototype, users had to open the menu and then end the activity which was difficult for the users.

Solution: The prototype was re-iterated to have the end sticking to the environment below the Menu and Exit

Results and Impact

This Gravity Drive VR project is an early-stage concept , and while there's certainly room for improvement, it laid a strong foundation for revolutionizing VR training in law enforcement. Through collaboration with over 40 police departments, we gathered invaluable feedback through concept testing, ensuring the dashboard addressed the specific needs of trainers and trainees.

Providing law enforcement officers with improved tools to deliver effective feedback during VR training sessions.

Providing law enforcement officers with improved tools to deliver effective feedback during VR training sessions.

The goal was to enable instructors to track and analyze trainee's performance and provide actionable feedback.

Final Product in VR

Janmashtami Celebration

Janmashtami Celebration

Smile tracking eye glasses

Smile tracking eye glasses

Hand tracking filter

Hand tracking filter

Ground Tracking

Ground Tracking

Flower shop visiting card

Harry potter escape room