IAEM Bulletin January 2017 Holodisaster: Leveraging Hololens in Disaster and Emergency Management By Ali Asgary, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Disaster & Emergency Management, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada olodisaster is the name of Furlan2, HoloLens a research project at York results are the best HUniversity’s Disaster, mixed-reality Emergency and Rapid Response experience to date Simulation (ADERSIM) initiative1 by a standalone, that aims to develop holographic untethered device. disaster simulations that are mixed While aug- with the reality and can be viewed mented and mixed using the Microsoft HoloLens reality seem to have technology. According to Microsoft, great applications HoloLens is the first fully self- and specialized Figure 1. Microsoft HoloLens. contained, holographic computer, niches in a number enabling users to interact with high of sectors, including manufacturing, (JAL) has developed new training definition holograms (Figure 1) that transportation, construction, applications for engine mechanics is very much different from the business, public health and medi- and flight crew trainees using the existing augmented and mixed cine, Microsoft has listed disaster Microsoft HoloLens reality technologies. and emergency management as one headset. Users can wear the 580-gram of the HoloLens application areas Practical Scenarios HoloLens headset that runs Win- and encourages research and dows 10 to map their environments developments in this field. Hololens Consider that you want to run an and display virtual or holographic 2D applications in medical education emergency exercise for a train and 3D objects anchored to that and air transportation already have derailment, plane crash, terror environment. According to Rod begun. For example, Japan Airlines attack, tornado, volcano eruption, mass shooting, or crowd incidents. 1 ADERSIM initiative consists of an EOC form simulation facility and a research training program funded by Ontario Research Fund (ORF), Natural Science and You can add the derailing train, Engineering Council (NSERC), and York University. crashing plane, moving tornado, or 2 Furlan, Rud, 2016, “The Future of : Hololens Microsoft’s AR erupting volcano to the reality. headset shines despite rough edges,” SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG, North American, HoloLens applications enable you to June 2016, page 21. add these scenarios to the real Emergency Manager 1 national standard of baseline world as 3D holographic objects. You also can interact with these objects continued from page 19 training in emergency management and adopted in all states. While the through voice, gestures, finger taps, FEMA National Emergency Manage- and gazing (see Figure 2 on page Conclusion ment Basic Academy is a purposeful 21). Alternatively, imagine that you are in an EOC where you can wear Police, fire, and EMS academies first step forward, it must be significantly re-engineered to your Microsoft HoloLens and view as are established, well-recognized many maps, videos, TVs and charts methods of training aspiring public successfully scale nationwide and target the correct audience of as you want without having them all safety professionals across the physically installed on the walls. United States. The Emergency aspiring and new emergency Manager 1 course, in New Jersey, managers. The Emergency Man- Development of has clearly demonstrated this model ager 1 course can undoubtedly serve Applications for HoloLens of training can be successful when as a template for any state or agency wishing to implement an Holodisaster is developing applied to emergency managers. various applications for HoloLens More so, this model should be emergency management academy quickly recognized as the new course in their jurisdiction. continued on page 21

20 IAEM Bulletin January 2017

Holodisaster continued from page 20 that can be used in disaster and emergency management, educa- tion, training, emergency planning, response, and recovery. From hologram modeling of various hazards to emergency response equipment to simulated disaster scenarios, education and training of emergency managers and personnel are important application areas for HoloLens. Basic emergency manage- ment functions such as search and rescue operations, evacuation, mass casualty management, and provision Figure 2. HoloLens in use. of social services in reception centers can be simulated and mitigation measures with HoloLens persons on a disaster or emergency practiced using HoloLens applica- applications could be more effective scene before the arrival of emer- tions. Specific applications can be and personalized. Teaching school gency personnel. developed for very specific emer- age children about hazards in their Although holographic technology gency management functions when own environment will be very has experienced some disasters in needed. attractive and much easier with the past (such as ), Simulated Environments to HoloLens. The first public education Microsoft has learned from those Train Emergency Managers experiment of Holodisaster was held experiences by putting this technol- and the Public at York University on Oct. 13, 2016, ogy in the hands of developers and during the International Day of researchers first. As stated by Dr. The Holodisaster project is Disaster Risk Reduction. Melissa DeCapua, who has listed the developing simulated environments HoloLens has promising applica- applications of HoloLens in nursing, allowing emergency managers at all tions in tele-training and activities as “the applications of this world- levels to educate and train disaster well. Consider situations where changing innovation are endless.” It response functions. Adding disaster certain search-and-rescue opera- is evident that combining HoloLens scenarios to reality in form of tions or use of equipment that can with existing and emerging tech- augmented reality, the HoloLens be guided by experts that are not nologies will create very powerful enables disaster management present in the disaster or emergency technologies and tools for future trainees to better visualize the scenes. HoloLens could allow experts emergency managers. However, in disaster scenarios. to send themselves into the first its early stages, there is a great The Holodisaster project also responders’ environment and guide need for close collaboration be- develops and tests HoloLens applica- them virtually in a more realistic tween researchers and professional tions for emergency public educa- manner. Similarly, EOC members can to leverage this technology and tion. Being able to add hazards to immerse themselves into the develop useful applications for it. the existing environments as mixed disaster scene using HoloLens The Holodisaster project team reality, or adding and viewing technology. Needless to say, the welcomes ideas and suggestions various risk mitigation actions to the same can be applied to situations from IAEM members and is looking real world, enables people and where emergency management forward to working with practitio- audiences to better appreciate the personnel can provide guidance to ners who are interested in develop- hazards and understand hazard non-experts (the general public) who ing and using HoloLens in applica- mitigation measures. Educating the happen to be in inaccessible emer- tions in disaster and emergency public about the hazards and gency situations or to be the first management.

21