GovWire

Plextek has used Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) funding to create a virtual-reality skills assessment system to identify candidate training needs to help reduce the training burden in terms of cost and equipment.

Plextek has created a skills assessment to help identify a range of cognitive skills that military personnel require for their jobs.

The results will show the strengths and weaknesses of an individual in areas of multi-tasking, time challenge, spatial awareness, navigation, and recall-ability. It will also compare them to their peers.

A series of virtual-reality challenges and skill tests can then be produced, providing the trainees with the same cognitive workload as real-world activities.

Plextek is now looking to extend the skills tests to apply to a wide range of military and civil-service roles. It intends to partner with behavioural scientists whose expertise can provide proven cognitive testing methodologies.

Plextek also plans to run trials over a large user base of approximately 200 trainees to demonstrate that the system is fit for purpose.

Peter Doig, Plextek Business Development Consultant said:

Were pleased to have continued our successful relationship with CDE, securing 6 projects across 4 themed competitions in 2015. This has led to Plexteks wider collaboration within Dstl and MOD, the UK Defence Solutions Centre, and across the defence supply chain.

Plextek , based in Great Chesterford, has been at the forefront of business and product innovation since 1989 and currently employs 70 staff.

About CDE

CDE funds novel, high-risk, high-potential-benefit research. We work with the broadest possible range of science and technology providers, including academia and small companies, to develop cost-effective capabilities for UK armed forces and national security.

CDE is part of Dstl.

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