A virtual reality based fire training simulator with smoke hazard assessment capacity

Abstract

Smoke is a leading cause of death in fire. To minimize the potential harm from the smoke hazards in the course of a fire, a rational virtual reality (VR)-based fire training simulator taking full account of the various aspects of smoke hazards has been developed and is described herein. In this simulator, a visualization technique based on volume rendering and fire dynamics data has been especially designed to create a realistic and accurate smoke environment for the purposes of effective virtual training, which allows the trainees to experience a realistic and yet non-threatening fire scenario. In addition, an integrated assessment model of smoke hazards is also established in order to assess the safety of different paths for evacuation or rescue in virtual training, which allows the trainees to learn to identify the safest path. Two case studies of a subway station and a primary school demonstrated a high level of accuracy and smooth interactive performance of the proposed simulator, which is thus shown to be valuable for the training of both people who might become trapped in fire and firefighters engaged in learning the proper rescue procedures.

Design and Implementation of Fire Safety Education System on Campus based on Virtual Reality Technology

“…Bhagat [7] designs a cost-effective 3D VR system for military live fire training. Xu [8] establishes a VR-based fire training simulator with smoke assessment capability. On the whole, current research and applications are mainly focused on firefighting programs and evacuation plans.…”

Multi-role collaborative fire drill simulation with smoke risk evaluation

“…3 ) were calculated for the purpose of accurately verifying the safety of two evacuation routes. In the virtual training, the evacuation speed is approximately from 0.8 to 2.0 m/s [6]. The evacuation or rescue time of virtual training in path 1 and path 2 are 26.5s and 21s, respectively.…”

“…A fire evacuation simulation method based on numerical simulation in VR environment was proposed by Ren et al [5]. A VR simulator with smoke hazard assessment capacity was proposed by Xu Z. et al [6] and applied it to two simple stand-alone scenarios. However, the virtual fire drill system that combines smoke risk evaluation model and the real fire scenario with multi-person and multi-role collaboration has not been further studied.…”

Desktop virtual reality for emergency preparedness

“…VR, in the form of 3D interactive simulations of emergency scenarios, is increasingly applied to training first responders [Andreatta et al 2010;Backlund et al 2007;Cha et al 2012;Cohen et al 2013;Knight et al 2010;Xu et al 2014] and other professionals [Ahman 2011, Buttussi et al 2013Manganas et al 2004;Stone et al 2009] in handling emergencies. Some systems were shown to be effective for professionals, e.g.…”