Scenes such as this virtual corridor could help firefighters and emergency personnel navigate through unfamiliar buildings.

707: Capabilities, Consequences Of Virtual Reality System

While trying to find his way out of the burning building, a firefighter loses his sense of direction. As he makes his way down a smoke-filled hallway, he tries to orient himself: Where is the nearest exit? How do I get out of here?

Eventually the firefighter makes it to the end of the hallway, but there is no exit in sight. As he looks around, the surroundings seem familiar. First, he turns left, then right, finally finding a stairwell that leads to safety.

The firefighter credits his escape with being familiar with the building, even though he had never been inside it before. He had learned his way around it through a virtual tour he took last month at the station house.

707: A First Responder Support System is a prototype currently under development at the Visual Information Systems Center (VISC) within Pitt’s School of Information Sciences (SIS). It is being developed for firefighters and emergency medical technicians, who are often the first to respond to a crisis.

“The system will let first responders get in and get out as safely as possible,” said Ken Sochats, who codeveloped 707. Sochats is assistant professor of information science and telecommunications in SIS and director of VISC.

Sochats and Michael Lewis, associate professor of information science and telecommunications in SIS and director of SIS’ Stephen Hughes Usability Study Laboratory, have used simulation, Geographic Information Systems, and database technology to design a system that creates a digital visualization of each floor in a building, complete with icons that mark exits, escape routes, structural weaknesses, and the locations of hazardous materials.

The next phase of their project will focus on providing real-time input to the first responders while they are in the building.

“We’re developing a dynamic planning module so that if a stairwell collapses, the program will automatically calculate an alternate route to send the first responder to the nearest exit,” explained Sochats.

Directions to the safest exit, hazardous materials alerts, and victim location information can be transmitted to firefighters via LED (light emitting diode) clusters located on their masks or helmets or via a personal digital assistant.

Other applications include providing virtual crime scenes to train police officers, virtual tours for prospective homebuyers, and virtual library tours to locate a book.

Sochats also is collaborating with Jose´-Marie Griffiths, Pitt’s Doreen E. Boyce Chair, professor of library and information science, and director of the Sara Fine Institute for Interpersonal Behavior and Technology, who is approaching 707 from a different perspective. Researchers at the institute, also within SIS, are interested in learning more about how people interact with and respond to technology.

“We don’t know enough about how people use technology and how that technology influences their work and recreation,” Griffiths said.

Griffiths is studying the extent to which the use of this simulation actually alters people’s behavior and how people adjust to knowing that they have a capability they haven’t had before.

By studying the human interface aspect of the system, both Griffiths and Sochats expect the design of the system to change and improve.

VISC has almost a dozen ongoing projects that focus on acquiring, storing, processing, or communicating visual information.

Griffiths’ research on the relationship between people and technology includes five areas of study: technology in the learning process; technology and collaboration; digital content, publishing, and libraries; underrepresented groups in science and technology; and leadership and management in changing times.

“Both the Sara Fine Institute and VISC are looking at the same problems,” said Griffiths. “We ultimately want the same solutions, but we are coming at them from different perspectives.” • AP