School safetyNew virtual tool gives responders, educators an “EDGE” on school safety

First responders and educators now have a new, free tool at their disposal to help ensure the safety of our nation’s schools, as well as the students and faculty within them. Developed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), the U.S. Army Simulation and Training Technology Center (STTC), and Cole Engineering Services Inc. (CESI), the Enhanced Dynamic Geo-Social Environment (EDGE), a virtual training platform, allows teachers, school staff, law enforcement officers, and others tasked with school security to create and practice response plans for a wide range of critical incidents.

“When it comes to the safety and security of students, there is no holding back,” said William N. Bryan, S&T Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology. “In many cases, school staff are the ‘first responders’ at the scene of an on-campus incident. We developed EDGE to help them prepare, so they have a new resource literally at their fingertips. By using EDGE to train, they can know how to act swiftly, decisively, and in collaboration with local emergency responders if and when something does happen.”

S&T says that EDGE, built on the Unreal 4 gaming engine, which powers popular video games like Fortnite and Street Fighter 5, allows first responders and educators to role-play complex scenarios in a virtual environment, improving and reinforcing coordination, communication, and critical decision-making skills. Users control avatars representing their real-life role—teachers, administrators, school resource officers, local law enforcement, and more—to execute a number of training scenarios of their own creation. The EDGE environment can be used to train for any type of incident, from parental custody disputes to potential bomb threats, an active shooter or other critical incident on campus.