CREATING 3D INDOOR FIRST RESPONDER SITUATION AWARENESS IN REAL-TIME THROUGH A HEAD-MOUNTED AR DEVICE

Abstract. Emergency operations are a key example for the need of digital twins in the way it is complex, urgent and uncertain. First, the process is complex, as many organizations are involved. Second, it is urgent, as most damage is done in the first moments of an emergency. Third, it is uncertain, as situational conditions tend to change quickly.

For outdoor operations, spatial information systems help in creating an overview of the situation, for example by displaying positions of first responder units involved with the incident. However, spatial data of indoor environments is scarce. Static information of the building, such as floor plans, are often outdated or non-existent. Dynamic operational data such as positions of first responders within the building are only available in a very limited way as well, and often without visual representation.

To create situation awareness of indoor first responder operation environments, this paper successfully proposes a proof of concept with two objectives. First, the proof of concept will collect spatial environment data in the form of mapping and tracking data by using a Microsoft HoloLens. This means the geometry of the building will be collected, together with traversed routes within the building. Second, the data will be streamed and displayed to a remote first responder coordinator in real-time to create a common operational picture. This enables the coordinator to quickly build situation awareness of the operation environment, enabling the coordinator to improve the quality of decisions, thereby improving first responder performance. The proof of concept showed that situation awareness on all three levels increases with the real-time (live) availability (visualisations) of 3D indoor environments. This concept needs to be tested further on usability and performance.