SEILAF: Wildfirexperience

Aerial Firefighting Europe 2013

Introduction

• Difficulties to gain • Drills as an alternative • Mission training in other fields

of activity: – i.e. Military, EMS, Oil&Gas

industry – Based on simulation

technologies – Significant investments

required

Experience obtained ‘on the field’ is one of the most valuable resorces towards security and efficiency

Traditional approaches to firefighting simulation

Trade-off between fidelity in the fire simulation and the possibility of developing the simulation in real time

Fire simulation accuracy

Real time

Data processing capacity

Traditional ‘fire simulators’

‘Role playing’ based systems

Immersion? ‘credible

information’ &

‘realisticly presented to

senses’

What’s SEILAF

• Grupo FAASA – International aircraft operator

headquartered in Spain – Specialized in aerial support to firefighting – One of the main providers of aerial

firefighting services in Spain and Chile – 60 aircraft operated , 300 professionals

• INDRA – Spanish information technology and

defense systems multinational company – Listed on the Bolsa de Madrid. – Key player in the synthetic training

market providing simulators for civil and military applications worldwide.

• Universities and Research Centres

Integrate the broad knowledge available in wildfire modeling with the application of the latest simulation technologies

The SEILAF approach

THE SEILAF CORE Systems emulating all facets of a wildfire in real time

The wildifire simulation: SEILAF core

• The physical environment – Natural landscape which will affect

and be affected by the fire

• The fire and the wind – Wildifre and local wind interacting

among them and with in the physical environment

• The suppresion resources – Media available for suppresion of the

wildfire

• The presentation layer – Gathers all information and associates

3D visual models to objects and phenomena

Dedicated systems, hosted in a data processing centre of high capacity, emulating key facets of the wildfire in real time

The Detailed Terrain System

• Based on DTED2 images • High detail 600 km2 scenarios representing a

broad set of landscape typologies • Fuel models and surfaces in different status

(green, singed/smoldering, glowing/ burned) – Not combustible – Woods – Grass – Brush – Prunned trees

• Infrastructure: – Roads, Helibases, airports, water points, electric

lines…

• Configurable weather conditions – Different types of clouds (scattered, broken,

overcast…) – Daylight/Nighttime – Rain / Snow, Lightning, Dust

Representative physical environments, modelized in high detail, in which wildfires evolve

Orography, textures, natural elements, infrastructure

Orography, textures, natural elements, infrastructure

Water points and obstacles

Helibases, airports, runways

Fuel models and combustion status

Density

Land burned, smoldering, glowing, green…

Meteorology

The Wildfire Behavior and Wind Generation Systems

• Wildfire evolving on the high detail terrain model considering: – Orography – Fuel models including their combustion parameters – Meteorological conditions – The suppresion actions

• Wind model calculated from free wind vector and Model Digital Terrain: – Local wind – Turbulences – Free wind altitude

• Behavior effects – Spotting, torching – Crown fire – Convection column – Secondary ignition points – Turbulences – Smoke

Wildfire and local wind interacting among them and with the physical environment in real time

Fire on terrain

Wildfire at night

Smoke

Different status of combustion

Torching

Spotting

Wind driven

The Tactical Environment System

• Synthetic replicas of a broad set of suppresion resources – Airplanes and helicopters – Ground vehicles – Firefighters

• Fitted with Artificial Intelligence – Parameters configurable in planning

or playing mode. – Authonomous behavior:

• configurable waypoint routes, rectilinear movement, orbit,…

– Authomatic manouvers: • loads and drops of water, tandems,

firelines, counterfire…

– Consider terrain constraints : • roads, slopes, obstacles…

• Modelized performance and operating time based on reality

• Associated sound effects

Suppresion resources available to trainees to fight the fire from ground and air

Aerial entities

Modelized in high detail

Including tails and paint skins

Ground vehicles and firefighters

All in action

All in action

All in action

THE INTERACTION WITH SEILAF Instructors and trainees into the SEILAF wildfirexperience

The Instructor systems and tools

• The Instructor Position – Communications station

– Monitors: • Instructor Operating

System

• On board camera

• Trainee view

The Instructor Operating System (IOS) and de Debriefing Station allow the participants to interact in real time with the system

• The Instructor Operating System (IOS) – Planner mode for exercises

design – Setting of initial conditions and

parameters for all systems: • Wildfire (poligonal areas, fire

focuses) • Tactical entities (number, type,

automatic manouvers, etc) • Weather and visual conditions

– Exercise monitoring and control: • Modifications in the course of

exercise (crashes, failures, changes in weather conditions, new ignitions, etc)

• System or help messages relevant for instructor

• Session and marks for debriefing

The Instructor systems and tools

• The Debriefing Station – Support for analisys of

the results of the mission – Monitors and wide

interactive video screen – Recording system

• Managed from IOS simultaneously to the exercise

• Possibility to insert recording marks

• All relevant audio, video and data recorded:

– Mission evolution – Communications – Images – Data

Planning, monitoring and controlling de course of exercises as well as provide effective debriefings

The Command Post Simulator

• Real vehicle fitted with equipment – Communication

systems – Meteo station

• 2 x HD projectors • 8 meters wide screen • Surround sound

system

Where the Wildfire Commander and his team evaluate the fire, check weather conditions, elaborate and execute an action plan

A global perspective from ground

…or a detailed sight to operations

Using all media available at the command post

To command suppresion resources

To command suppression resources

The Air Operations Manager Simulator

• Real spotter aircraft cabin

• Simulated instruments and replicated radio systems

• Overhead projection

An zenital perspective of the wildfire form evaluation, management of operations and air coordination

A 2000 feet perspective

With overall view

To command from air

The Bell 412 Simulator

• Most of components of a Full Flight Simulator – Real cabin and cockpit – Analogic real displays – Four axes full motion system – 6 HD projectors – 3,5 m radio spheric domo

• Specific develpments for firefighting missions – Bamby bucket for water dropping

missions – Specific firefighting mission effects in

flying model (turbulences, loss of lift, pitching after water release…)

Real experience of fighting the fire from the air, feeling the effects of fire, wind and firefighting manouvers

Real analog panel and cockpit

High detail from helicopter perspective

High detail from helicopter perspective

High detail from helicopter perspective

Bewaring obstacles

Fire operations – bamby bucket

Fire operations – bamby bucket

Teamworking

To fight the fire from air

SEILAF wildfirexperience: immersion in firefighting

A credible wildfire realisticly presented to trainee’s senses

IMMERSION

Real time deployment

Fidelity of fire behavior simulation

Traditional ‘fire simulators’

‘Role playing’ based systems

Where are we

Five minutes drive from SEVILLE (Spain) International Airport – 2 hours high speed train from MADRID (Spain)

Operated by FAASA,

manufactured by INDRA