Studying the Effects of Robot Intervention on School Shooters in Virtual Reality
This addresses the problem of enhancing safety in school shooting scenarios, though it is incremental as it builds on existing VR and robotics research.
The study investigated the impact of robotic intervention on school shooters in a virtual reality simulation, finding that an aggressive, high-distraction robot reduced the number of victims by 46.6% compared to a no-robot control.
We advance the understanding of robotic intervention in high-risk scenarios by examining their potential to distract and impede a school shooter. To evaluate this concept, we conducted a virtual reality study with 150 university participants role-playing as a school shooter. Within the simulation, an autonomous robot predicted the shooter's movements and positioned itself strategically to interfere and distract. The strategy the robot used to approach the shooter was manipulated -- either moving directly in front of the shooter (aggressive) or maintaining distance (passive) -- and the distraction method, ranging from no additional cues (low), to siren and lights (medium), to siren, lights, and smoke to impair visibility (high). An aggressive, high-distraction robot reduced the number of victims by 46.6% relative to a no-robot control. This outcome underscores both the potential of robotic intervention to enhance safety and the pressing ethical questions surrounding their use in school environments.