Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality and Security

There is no arguing that technology is growing exponentially. We all have smartphones in our hand at almost any given moment.

Some folks are saying the next great step for mankind is Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). We already see it in the security industry!

For the past few decades, when it came to the planning stages of designing a building, designers would use Building Information Models, or BIMs, that would show what the building was supposed to look like but on a small scale.

Now, with the use of VR/AR, these models can be scanned into full 3D representations and can offer more than just the traditional floor plan. This will enable security engineers and consultants to finalize much more of the system design early on and expedite its construction.

Not only can the 3D scans of the BIMs be studied, but they can also be experienced in VR. With VR it allows for designers and security teams to simulate different scenarios from a break-in robbery, to a mass evacuation due to a suspicious package. This will also allow a security team to train for scenarios that were too dangerous before due to things such as bodily harm to the trainee or damage to equipment.

These training exercises could take place long before any shovels break ground for the new building. Developers can be more easily convinced on landscaping with Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CEPTD) because of the extra feeling of safety it brings.

With AR, you have the ability to bring parts of VR to the real world as opposed to being subjected to a full digital reality.

This enables:

• Construction workers to digitally ensure that a building has been completed to its design specifications by overlaying the BIM model in full 3D onto the site.

• Security teams to continue training to virtual crisis scenarios overlaid onto their actual building.

• Public to receive, to their smartphones, visual step-by-step directions to the proper evacuation or lockdown location.

• Guards and first responders to react to active security situations while having real-time access to the electronic security systems at their fingertips.

On the last note above, the rise of AR along with 3D sensing systems integrated into CCTV can allow a responder to effectively see people through walls, ceilings, and floors. The responder can then simply point to a place to lock it down to better manage the situation.

AR can also take a 3D scan of a past crime scene and overlay it back onto its original location, allowing for a more detailed forensic analysis.

The other thing that AR/VR bring to the table is how much cheaper it will be to train security teams. Security training, while it is important, is one of the center costs for a business. The training provided by VR/AR give real-time feedback and helps improve the efficiency of skills transfer, increased knowledge retention, and better captures enterprise knowledge within an organization. It helps keep the cost of broken equipment down, and keeps trainees’ lives out of harm’s way.