Company name: V-Armed
Headquarters: Brooklyn, New York
Signature Product: V-Armed Complete Training System
Website: https://www.v-armed.com/
1. Where did your company name originate from?
The V-Armed name combines the world’s fastest growing training tool (virtual reality), along with our passion for arming members of the law enforcement community with the most realistic, impactful and relevant training tools available in the industry today. Don’t just use VR to prepare your officers – get them V-Armed.
2. What was the inspiration behind starting your company?
The parent company behind V-Armed, Animated Storyboards, is an established stalwart of the advertising production community. Animated Storyboards has produced the highest quality broadcast and test commercials for over 25 years using an experienced cadre of animators, designers, illustrators and production staff with brick-and-mortar studios spanning the globe.
Having a robust background in 3D design and motion capture, along with in-house software and hardware development experts, V-Armed was formed in 2016 to fill a serious need in the law enforcement community for holistic, effective training that could play a crucial role in officer readiness programs – making both communities and officers safer in the field.
3. What is your signature product and how does it work?
The V-Armed Complete Training System is a customized VR training solution for law enforcement and tactical teams that allows 10 participants, each with 6 force options and peripherals, navigate hyper-realistic training scenarios simultaneously in custom free roaming virtual environments.
Our cutting-edge hardware and software allow training teams to build their own training scenarios and practice them with minimal extra equipment. Participants are given realistic force options for positive kinesthetic learning so they can take what they practice directly to the field.
The V-Armed Scenario Editor gives power back to the instructor to craft their own scenarios within custom local environments. Our After Action Review provides flexible playback of all trainee performance through a wide variety of precise, measurable data points. The V-Armed Complete System contains everything an agency needs to provide the most robust recruit or in-service training program available today.
4. Why do you believe your products are essential to the police community?
V-Armed products are essential to the police community because our simulators don’t just teach you how to use a firearm or non-lethal weapon – we provide the space needed for officers to learn how to make the right decisions for each situation. Too many use-of-force simulators on the market provide limited space and unrealistic scripted scenarios for officers to train in.
The V-Armed training systems allow for larger, real-life environments for officers to use movement to their advantage, along with a complete set of force options. And the ability to incorporate multiple people within the same scenario means an instructor can play an adversary, person in crisis or fellow team member to create a much more relevant, realistic experience for the trainee. All this allows for more efficient, effective and targeted training for each agency – creating safer outcomes for officers and their community.
5. What has been the biggest challenge your company has faced?
Our biggest challenge is also our biggest opportunity. We are continually striving to educate law enforcement agencies and decision makers of the value of virtual reality in training, and the vast improvement in training effectiveness VR provides compared to live role play or screen-based simulators. Once someone from a prospective agency experiences a V-Armed training system in person, they instantly see the value it offers and the potential impact it can have on their department’s training methods.
6. What makes your company unique?
V-Armed Training Systems provide the most complete, highest quality VR training solutions available to the law enforcement community today. No other company can provide our level of custom 3D environments and elements, accommodate 10 simultaneous participants with full duty gear, or match our robust, flexible scenario creation and playback software. V-Armed prides itself on providing a measurable, accountable, scalable and service-oriented solution for customers.
7. What do your customers like best about you and your products?
V-Armed customers appreciate the custom, flexible options included with our training systems. Instructors see the value in the flexible nature of our scenario creator and embrace the ability to effectively shape the training experience for their officers by creating and participating in scenarios themselves as an avatar of their choice. V-Armed power users leverage our efficient station rotation workflow and appreciate the impact of all the details we bring with our custom 3D elements such as locations, uniforms, squad cars and more.
8. What is the most rewarding part of serving the first responder community?Seeing the impact that VR training experiences can have on officers and hearing their feedback after a day of training is truly inspiring. We hear over and over how V-Armed training scenarios are more effective for officer readiness than any training exercise officers have been part of before. It is rewarding to know that V-Armed is preparing officers to make better, safer decisions for themselves and those they serve.
9. What’s next for your company? Any upcoming new projects or initiatives?V-Armed is constantly innovating, listening to our customers and prospects, and keeping a pulse on the needs of the law enforcement community to make the biggest impact possible in the field of officer preparedness.
In early 2024, V-Armed will be going to market with a three-person VR training system designed to be our most nimble and flexible training solution yet. The kit will still have everything agencies love about V-Armed, but with a lighter footprint to accommodate any facility.