---
title: "UMD, Google Unit Partner on Developing VR Training Platform for Police"
date: 2021-10-27T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/umd-google-unit-partner-on-developing-vr-training-platform-for-police"
section: Articles
---
# UMD, Google Unit Partner on Developing VR Training Platform for Police

*October 27, 2021* — by [Liam Farrell](/author/liam-farrell)


> New Research a Highlight of Inaugural ‘Beyond the Field’ Homecoming Address

*Rashawn Ray Classroom 10252021 JC 3158 1920x1080 — Professor Rashawn Ray teaches about anti-bullying interventions in an undergraduate sociology class Monday. Ray delivers the inaugural "Beyond the Field" Homecoming address about his research Sunday.*

A new partnership between the University of Maryland and Jigsaw, a unit of Google, will create groundbreaking virtual reality training for police officers to learn and evaluate de-escalation and communication skills.

The ongoing development of Jigsaw’s “Trainer” platform, announced Monday, will include new studies and input from four higher education institutions, including UMD’s Lab for Applied Social Science Research. The lab is led by sociology Professor Rashawn Ray, an expert on systemic bias and racism in policing who will deliver the inaugural “Beyond the Field” Homecoming address on Facebook Live during halftime of Saturday’s football game.

“This program is going to completely revolutionize police training, to put officers in a safe environment where they can aim to get better and more objective,” Ray said.

Interactions between police and the general public and the disproportionately fatal consequences suffered by Black Americans have become major flashpoints following the deaths of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Breonna Taylor in Louisville and George Floyd in Minneapolis, among others.


*Rashawn Ray teaches in classroom*



**Sidebar note:**

**“Beyond the Field” 2021 Homecoming Address** Go beyond the gridiron as Rashawn Ray, professor of sociology and executive director of the Lab for Applied Social Science Research in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, discusses his work on systemic racism, bias in policing and cyberbullying in this new Homecoming Week highlight. His address will stream at [facebook.com/UnivofMaryland](https://www.facebook.com/UnivofMaryland) at halftime of the football game vs. Indiana, which kicks off at noon on Saturday.





**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality](https://today.umd.edu/topic/augmented-reality-virtual-reality), [Sociology](https://today.umd.edu/topic/sociology), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Behavioral and Social Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-behavioral-and-social-sciences)