Urban Search and Rescue virtual training tool prototype

Here is a video and download link for the virtual training tool prototype created using Unreal Engine 4. The building model is from a collapse simulation of the Pyne Gould Corporation building in Christchurch, New Zealand. The simulation was made by Laurea UAS as a part of  INACHUS´ software validation cases .

Download link:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!An_aRlulJVbggsllAar-_uxE9uMZhA

At the current stage of the prototype, the user will try to find and evacuate all victims in the scene. The prototype will hopefully be improved further by another student, so it can be brought to a point where it could be used as a virtual training tool to reduce costs in Urban Search and Rescue training. For example adding first aid, techniques and decision making according to the USaR principles could be implemented in the tool.

The project was done by Ville Tiira as an internship and thesis, which are a part of the Bachelor’s degree in Business Information Technology in Laurea UAS.

 

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Laurea video cross-linked on Erwin Coumans personal Google+ profile

We are happy that our Pyne Gould simulation was noticed by the creator of the Bullet Physics library himself. The video is now cross-linked on his personal Google+ profile:

https://plus.google.com/+erwincoumans

Destruction of concrete by lightning

The claim that the apartment building in Chennai (see post below) collapsed because of a lighting strike sounds- at first- far fetched, since such never was reported before. However, the Polytechnic Südwestfalen, Germany, made laboratory tests that showed that an enormous explosive power is mobilized, when the charge of a lighting jumps from one reinforcement iron to another (when not properly bound together). A possible lesson for engineers and builders in the industrialized countries as well.

© Polytechnic Südwestfalen, Prof. Dr.- Ing. Jan Meppelink

Simulation of an extraordinary building collapse in Chennai, Moulivakkam, India

On 28th of June 2014 around 4:40 PM IST one of two under construction buildings collapsed at  a suburb of Chennai, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The collapse happened during heavy rain and a thunderstorm with lightning. The building site was still busy. Workers and casual uninvolved searched shelter from the rain and frequent lightning. This is the reason  the accident claimed many victims, altogether 61 casualties. Many of the survivors delivered eye witness reports. According to those reports the building collapsed directly after a lightning stroke. This might be the first documented case where a lighting caused the complete collapse of a building.

The debris pattern is most unusual, since the building was split into two halves and each half shifted to the respective side. The simulation, made by Virtual Validation Corporation Kostack & Walter, reproduces this extraordinary dynamics very well. The software was developed at Laurea University of Applied Sciences.

Educational tool for first responders

Now, that we are able to successfully simulate the collapse of big building structures, the software Blender gives its splendid support to exploit the simulation results for interactive walk throughs. Blender´s powerful features facilitate educational tools for rescue workers and paramedics. A training program could teach them in localizing victims within the debris, estimating their physical condition and applying first aid measures.

Collapse simulation of the PGC building in Christchurch, 2011

We have reached an impressive milestone. Our BCB add-on has evolved into a serious simulation tool: One of the software validation cases in our Inachus research has been the collapsed Pyne Gould Corporation building in Christchurch. The building was destroyed in a devastating earthquake, on 22 February 2011. The Blender add-on was able to simulate the debris pattern fairly accurately as it can be seen from the video and the still images at the end of it.

Only the simulation of concrete structures is possible at the moment. Much remains to be done, such as the simulation of deformable building elements like steel structures. The bases is laid with the introduction of spring constraints. But the working of springs in Blender needs yet thorough investigation.

3D Interactive Walkthrough

This video is a first test to see if our simulation results can be used in an interactive walk through environment. The collapsed blender model is exported into the unreal game engine. Here a character can walk around, climb the debris or search inside for cavity spaces. This technology would be perfectly suitable for the education of rescue personnel. It is for example possible to apply physical behavior to debris fragments so that trainees can move pieces and experience the subsequent collapse.