Synthetic Environment for Emergency Response Simulation

Project Summary

Our objective is to develop synthetic environments that specifically approximate mass casualty emergency situations due to accidents, natural disasters, or terrorist attacks. We are employing both military simulation technology and computer game technology to achieve robust, realistic environments. We plan to reuse (as much as possible) simulations and models already developed for terrain, vehicles, agent plume dispersals, etc. Our emphasis will be the integration of these different models and creating simulated agents that have realistic first responder behaviors and roles.

While we encountered our fair share of dead ends and frustrations, our project met and, in some ways, exceeded our goals. Our original vision of leveraging DoD simulations did not bear fruit, but our success in using game engines produced better-than-expected results. We created four synthetic environments using different platforms and engines, and we and modeled six different scenarios including mass casualty incidents, hazardous materials accidents, and routine detection of radiological materials. We succeeded in demonstrating the utility of simulation in the context of two emergency response exercises, which had a direct benefit for the user community. We successfully integrated simulation with emergency response information systems.

Our current project, Simulation of Large Scale Catastrophic Events (SLSCE), is using technology developed in the SEERS project to simulate events that exceed the capability of local response organizations. The State of Vermont and the National Infrastructure Institute (NI2) are partners in this effort.

• Project Lead: Dennis McGrath