USECON THE USABILITY CONSULTANTS GMBH

Their core work

USECON is a Vienna-based usability and human factors consultancy that specializes in designing and evaluating user experiences for high-stakes training environments. Their core work in H2020 centers on mixed-reality and virtual reality training systems — particularly for law enforcement and first responders — where they bring expertise in human decision-making, interaction design, and user-centered evaluation. They bridge the gap between complex simulation technology and the people who actually need to use it under pressure.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

USECON's early H2020 work (2015-2018) focused on mixed-reality simulation for law enforcement — specifically interrogation training for multi-national police teams dealing with organized crime. From 2019 onward, they shifted toward broader human factors research, expanding into VR-based decision-making training for police (which they coordinated) and then into medical first responder training with haptic feedback and smart wearables. The trajectory is clear: from niche law enforcement simulation partner to a recognized authority on immersive training for high-stress professions, now incorporating wearable technology and physiological data.

USECON is moving toward wearable-enhanced, physiologically-aware immersive training systems for emergency services — a growing field as VR hardware matures and first responder agencies seek evidence-based training tools.

How they like to work

USECON mostly joins consortia as a specialist partner (3 of 4 projects), but proved they can lead when they coordinated SHOTPROS — their largest project at EUR 837K. With 52 unique partners across 12 countries from just 4 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia typical of EU security research. This suggests they are a trusted specialist that larger teams actively recruit for their human factors and usability expertise.

USECON has built a broad European network of 52 partners across 12 countries through just 4 projects, indicating participation in large security-focused consortia. Their network likely spans law enforcement agencies, simulation technology developers, and academic human factors research groups.

What sets them apart

USECON occupies a rare niche: they are a commercial usability consultancy that has become deeply embedded in EU security research, specifically in immersive training. Unlike pure technology companies that build VR platforms, USECON focuses on the human side — whether trainees can actually learn, decide, and perform better. For consortium builders, they offer something hard to find: a private-sector SME with genuine human factors expertise validated across multiple security and emergency response projects.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LAW-TRAIN
  Their entry into H2020 security research, pioneering mixed-reality environments for multi-national police interrogation training.
• SHOTPROS
  Their only coordinator role, largest single funding (EUR 837K), and the project that established them as a lead in VR-based decision-making training for police.
• MED1stMR
  Their most recent project, expanding from law enforcement into medical first responders with smart wearables and haptic feedback — signaling their future direction.