Virtual training for real life preparedness
Published: 01 April, 2006
Virtual reality can create tension and immersion levels that accurately mimic real life. Many Municipal Fire Services are already deploying synthetic environments for training purposes, but now the industry as a whole is realising the advantages of training in a synthetic environment.
EADS recently launched NetCOS - Network Centric Operations Simulation - and Tony Bagnall is responsible for the NetCOS operations in the UK. EADS already has several NetCOS centres established in Europe, including a mobile facility and it is planned later this year to add a facility in North America and Spain.
“We call this collection of synthetic environments, a federation,” says Tony. “All our simulation centres across Europe can be connected with each other, which enables us to perform exercises with all the European authorities. In addition, we can connect with any of our customers’ synthetic environments anywhere in the world. Lastly, we can collaborate with industrial partners to form a specific federation. However NetCOS Centres are perfectly capable of running autonomously.”
When asked why people would use a computer-simulated environment for training purposes, Tony cites a very large scale training exercise that took place in London last year. Such training is usually a very costly affair, with parts of the city closed down and operational personnel deployed.
“A synthetic environment makes it more economically viable to test such things as concept of operation and concept of employment - before you actually commit to either an exercise with troops on the ground or training for mission rehearsal. As a result the synthetic environment is required to exhibit a deep layer of immersion,” he explains.
Gaming technology
The software that resides behind NetCOS is very similar to that being used in high end gaming consoles. The difference is that an acceptable sense of immersion created for a teenager in a room would not meet the requirements of the emergency services. Professionals have to actually believe that they are in a real operational environment.
Tony comments: “If we take a regional Fire and Rescue Services control centre for UK in the year 2009, as proposed under the Government’s FiReControl programme, then the fire brigade will be working under a completely different concept of operations. The method by which the Fire Authorities will manage their assets will be different under the Regional Control Centres (RCC) compared to the current system. We can use our synthetic environment to actually test out that concept of operations, before we actually commit to the operation procedure. It enables us to investigate where the gaps within the interoperability lie.”
FiReControl, for instance, will be required to demonstrate integration with Firelink, the UK Fire Service’s communication system. The Firelink operator will provide the network models, in order that EADS can run exercises within the concept of operations. Such capability is vitally important, as new systems solutions are developed, they will require the introduction of: “hardware and software into the loop” as Tony describes it.
During the process of developing the software and introducing the hardware, EADS keeps in constant contact with their client to develop the system to their requirements.
“At the earliest stages we would submit decisions into the simulation engine to obtain proof of concept. We would then draw on the experience of fire brigade officers as they decide the remit of what the subject matter should be included within the simulation. At this point we introduce a human factor into the loop running the simulation again and observing how participants would respond to the scenarios. We are looking to observe and record their behaviour patterns. The models we collect during this development process are then sent to the training school for further reviewing. Additionally and in parallel with this development, the controllers will also be receiving their training in the simulation,” Tony explains.
Recreating cities
To create an immediate familiarity within the simulated environment delivers a massive advantage. To produce a realistic environment, EADS uses simplified CAD 3D-models. These modelled environments can be on a scale able to recreate an entire city within which the fire service operates, such as London, Manchester or Paris. A good example of a synthetic environment that EADS uses is that of an offshore rig, which allows people to become familiar with the rig before it is even built. Safety exercises can be performed with personnel before they have ever been onboard. An exact replica of a facility lets you roam around freely and play out any kind of scenario free of danger or the high costs incurred during onsite training or exercises.
“We can even take in to account the amount of training the operator has received or the emotional state he is in,” explains Tony. Based on scientific research, most human behaviour can be broken down to a basic set of rules, this data will be put in to the system. “The next step is to replace the virtual humans with real ones and see how they interact within the virtual world. So it is a highly interactive environment,” explains Bagnall.
The UK National Grid, both Gas, Water and Electricity networks, has shown interest in NetCOS and EADS is currently exploring how to incorporate such large-scale networks in the system. But the interest is timely, and driven by real concerns.
“Let’s take the recent Buncefield incident,” Tony comments. “We could precisely model the whole site and perform exact training exercises according to that scenario. We can even transfer this on to site with our mobile units, where we can combine hands on training and a synthetic environment to give that extra amount of sensory stimulation. We call this a synthetic wrap, in other words they are using their equipment and their personnel in their environment.”
New risks and asymmetric threats have created the need for new capabilities that enable the emergency services to perform their missions successfully in a fundamentally different environ-ment. Effectiveness is no longer assessed on the basis of each asset deployed in the field, but rather on the ‘optimal combined use’ of all resources to deliver the “right response” to an emergency. Superiority of operations therefore relies on having the capability to acquire, process and share relevant information and have a faster awareness of a potential developing crisis situation. The value of delivering this all-decisive “information superiority” lies at the heart of simulated environments as encapsulated by EADS’ NetCOS centres. Truly an innovative new tool in the Fire Services arsenal, the ability to reproduce a realistic virtual environment that encompasses the entire chain of command, control and information networks, provides our Fire and Rescue Services with a powerful new capability to deliver increased public safety.
