A human-like visual-attention-based artificial vision system for wildland firefighting assistance

In this work we contribute to development of a “Human-like Visual-Attention-based Artificial Vision” system for boosting firefighters’ awareness about the hostile environment in which they are supposed to move along. Taking advantage from artificial visual-attention, the investigated system’s conduct may be adapted to firefighter’s way of gazing by acquiring some kind of human-like artificial visual neatness supporting firefighters in interventional conditions’ evaluation or in their appraisal of the rescue conditions of people in distress dying out within the disaster. We achieve such a challenging goal by combining a statistically-founded bio-inspired saliency detection model with a Machine-Learning-based human-eye-fixation model. Hybridization of the two above-mentioned models leads to a system able to tune its parameters in order to fit human-like gazing of the inspected environment. It opens appealing perspectives in computer-aided firefighters’ assistance boosting their awareness about the hostile environment in which they are supposed to evolve. Using as well various available wildland fires images’ databases as an implementation of the investigated concept on a 6-wheeled mobile robot equipped with communication facilities, we provide experimental results showing the plausibility as well as the efficiency of the proposed system.     

消防员组合定位的现场应用

随着社会发展,居民生活水平日益提高,生活用品日益丰富,生活空间日益个性化、复杂化。一旦有火情发生,现场条件也是越来越复杂,对消防人员的要求和危险也越来越高。为了应对这种趋势,本文研究出一套消防员组合定位系统,可以对身处现场的消防人员提供可靠帮助。该系统主要通过由锚节点和移动节点组成的情报网络,对现场消防人员提供保护和支持,并减少现场人员的危险。主要功能是为指挥人员提供现场实时环境情况,人员分布位置情况及人员状况;为消防人员提供行进路线支持,附近情况报告及危险预警。     

An ontology to represent firefighters data requirements during building fire emergencies

Firefighters require accurate and timely information regarding a building and its environment to perform their duty safely and successfully during a fire emergency. However, due to the chaotic nature of building fires, firefighters often receive erroneous, conflicting, or delayed information that can affect the outcome of an emergency. In this paper, we propose a solution in the form of an ontology that defines building and environmental data that is needed by firefighters during a building fire emergency. The ontology development followed the METHONTOLOGY method and was implemented using the web ontology language (OWL) in Protégé 5.5.0. Built-in reasoners in Protégé and an ontology pitfall scanning tool were employed to verify the structure and consistency of the new ontology. To validate the ontology efficacy, we developed a prototype web application to represent and visualise relevant information based on the ontology and used that as a basis for conducting interviews with firefighters. Finally, a specification document that describes the ontology was created and published online. The proposed ontology can be a basis for developing intelligent tools and systems that support firefighters.     

消防员应急救助三维定位技术

研究了一种在火灾现场对被困消防员进行应急救助的三维定位方案.该方案采用线性调频扩频(CSS)技术与其独有的对称双边两路测距(SDS-TWR)机制,并结合BMP085气压传感器测量高度,实现对消防员的三维定位.由于火灾现场复杂的环境加强了Chirp信号传输时的多径效应,因此采用卡尔曼滤波法滤除坐标突变值,能够将定位误差控制在1m以内.     

基于Arduino和IOT的家庭消防逃生报警系统

家庭安全一直是人们所关注的问题,但近五年来,每年家庭火灾的次数占总火灾发生次数的50%以上,亡人比例大幅上升。随着人们生活水平的提高,人们的安全意识逐渐加强,对家庭防火安全指数提出了更高的要求。而传统家庭消防逃生报警系统无法实现无线互联、自适应环境生成个性化探测指标并及时通知其他人并报警。为了解决这一问题,以Arduino作为核心控制器,采取物联网和传感器技术,将ESP8266模块与相关的硬件电路进行无线连接,通过APP获取室内实时监测的数据、火灾报警、远程开锁等。这种系统主要运用物联网技术,通过MQTT协议实现信号无线实时传输,弥补了传统系统的不足,能在第一时间联系到干系人,实现预警和协助逃生的目的。     

Cognitive characteristics in firefighter wayfinding Tasks: An Eye-Tracking analysis

During search and rescue, firefighters need to find paths in an unfamiliar space with minimum time and information available. The effective memorization and retrieval of critical spatial information can help reduce risks and increase mission efficiency. Although evidence has shown that different formats of wayfinding information, including landmarks, routes, and surveys, can impact search and rescue performance in different manners, a deeper understanding of the characteristics of firefighters’ cognitive processes related to the varying wayfinding information formats is less explored. To evaluate firefighters’ performance and cognitive characteristics in search and rescue, a firefighter experiment in Virtual Reality (VR) was conducted. Firefighters (n = 40) were recruited to participate in the simulated rescue task. After reviewing the spatial information in different formats, firefighters were requested to find three victims inside a VR maze as quickly as possible. Task performance was evaluated by the number of victims found and the time spent. Firefighters’ gaze patterns were analyzed to evaluate their cognitive status. The result showed that although the cognitive load under the survey and route conditions was significantly higher than under the landmark condition (p < 0.001), the decision-making involved a more effective cognitive process related to choosing the right path at critical waypoints such as where a turning decision must be made. Thus, the perceived workload and fatigue levels of the two conditions were lower, and the wayfinding performance was better. In contrast, with landmark information, the cognitive load levels were consistently high, along with increased mental fatigue.The findings reveal a series of cognitive features related to a more effective spatial decision-making in search and rescue. In the future, it is expected that these cognitive features can be used to develop real-time monitoring and prediction models for wayfinding performance.     

高层火灾智能报警及逃生指导系统

现有高层火灾报警系统因报警滞后,缺乏火灾定位以及逃生引导,导致现场人员伤亡较大。为此,设计了具有精准定位、高效报警以及智能逃生引导功能的火灾警报系统。通过TXW8301-WiFi模块、火灾探测器和语音单片构成节点设备,布控在建筑内各区域,可自动检测火灾发生,并第一时间在各楼层播报火灾位置及具体的逃生指引路线,可以解决高层建筑距离远、隔断多造成因不知情、不清楚逃生路线而错失最佳逃生时机的问题。除自动报警引导功能外,本系统通过对通道监控视频进行去烟补光和去噪处理,并基于深度学习算法进行行人密度检测,可以根据逃生通道的拥堵情况进行多次逃生指导,最终所有信息将在系统总控界面显示,方便统一救援指挥,可最大限度地降低火灾中的人员伤亡。     

Escape behavior in factory workshop fire emergencies: a multi-agent simulation

In this study, a multi-agent simulation is conducted to explore the relationship between fire escape survival rate and occupants’ risk preferences and stress capacity. The results indicate that, the escape survival rates for occupants with different risk preferences and stress capacities can be significantly different. More specifically, the simulation shows that the smaller the number of occupants is in a fire, the higher the survival rate can be expected. In addition, the simulation shows that the larger the number of individuals with stronger stress capacities is in a group, the higher the escape survival rate the group has. Moreover, the simulation shows that the more disperse the individuals’ risk preferences is in a group, the higher the escape survival rate the group has. Based on the simulation results, the paper proposes a framework of E-evacuation system to guide the rational escape and evacuation when enterprise workshop fire occurs. Suggestions for increasing escape survival rates during fires are provided.     

蛇形搜救机器人前端传感器设计与实现

设计了一种新型蛇形搜救机器人前端传感器。蛇形搜救机器人灵活的躯体结构适用于废墟环境下的搜救,为机器人设计安装一个多传感器模块全面获取搜救信息,提高搜救效率扩大搜救范围。采用嵌入式技术设计前端传感器,安装在蛇形搜救机器人前端,实现视频、温度、二氧化碳等传感器信息的通信,并且提供LED照明和双向语音对话。通过在模拟废墟环境下的实验,验证了此前端传感器的性能效果。     

态势图形处理在灭火救援系统中的应用与实践

复杂多样的现代火灾救援对消防信息化建设提出了更高的要求,逐渐暴露现有系统的弊端和不足:顶层设计缺乏,资源共享困难,系统间互连互通不畅。在一体化消防业务信息系统建设中,重点研究了态势图形处理如何贯穿在整个灭火救援指挥业务链中,在数字化预案制作、灭火救援指挥调度以及灾后战评总结中实现一张态势图跨系统间的综合运用。支持多源、多尺度背景的消防力量部署图交互式标绘技术,基于时间轴的态势演播技术的运用丰富了跨区域灭火救援指挥调度手段,针对高楼灭火的特点,提出了高层灭火态势的立体展现技术,能够从不同角度直观反应救援现场的各种态势,为指挥员的决策分析提供辅助支持。     

基于Pyrosim对天然气管道泄漏火灾后果的模拟研究

为探究天然气管道泄漏对周围人员和建筑物所造成的影响,提高管道火灾的人员逃生率,采用Pyrosim火灾仿真模拟软件,首先,按照管道火灾的特点设置火源及反应类型,对火灾模拟的过程、热辐射强度范围和温度分布范围进行分析;其次,将火灾模拟时间设为100 s,截取观察15 s、25 s、35 s、45 s、55 s、65 s、7...     

Mobile computing in urban emergency situations: Improving the support to firefighters in the field

Communication support is a serious limitation for Latin American firefighters when they deal with emergency situations. The insufficient number of radio channels and the impossibility to deliver digital information force firemen to improvise during response processes, e.g., to make decisions using their experience and poor or null supporting information. These improvised actions affect the time required to take control of an emergency, and also affect the evolution of the crisis situation. Provided most of Latin American fire companies are volunteer organizations, communication solutions that could help to overcome these problems are usually expensive for them. This article presents a low-cost mobile collaborative application, which may be used in emergency situations to overcome most of the firefighters’ communication problems. The application, named MobileMap, is the result of the research and development work conducted by the authors, supported by a Chilean fire company, during the last three years. MobileMap allows ad hoc communication, decisions support and collaboration among firefighters in the field using mobile devices. This solution complements the radio communication systems. Since the interactions supported by MobileMap are recorded, it is possible to analyze such information after the crisis and learn for future emergencies. The tool was evaluated in simulated and real scenarios, and the obtained results are highly encouraging.     

基于无线传感器网络的大型场所火情检测与定位算法

针对商场等大型场所火灾监控存在的火情态势估计不明、监控节点孤立、预警准确率低、火源定位不准确等问题,提出一种基于 无线传感器网络的大型场所火灾检测与定位算法。采用人工神经网络对火灾检测节点数据进行学习训练和火情估计,并经过模糊推理决策,给出火灾报警信息。利用受限空间烟雾扩散模型、气体温度扩散模型实现火源定位,并准确估计火情,以提供消防人员灭火决策。从单节点神经网络火灾报警仿真实验得出单节点火灾检测概率较高,同时从多节点火情定位实验得出,火情的覆盖范围描绘准确,火源定位精度较好。理论分析和实验结果表明火灾检测和定位算法是可行的。     

Forest Fires Mapping and Monitoring of current and past forest fire activity from Meteosat Second Generation Data

An operational visualization tool for forest fire events monitoring (named forest fires online/offline mapping and monitoring application, and shorthanded as FOMA) is presented. It can be used in two different modes: the near real-time mode, for the online display of actual possible and probable fires, or in retrospective mode, allowing the visualization of past forest fire occurrences. The application is based on the data obtained by the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) Active Fire Monitoring (FIR) product, obtained from the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) –2 satellite. The results of this tool, running in the online mode, are automatically uploaded to a web page, providing information about active and potential fires in near-real time. For further investigations, the retrospective mode allows access to processed information, in the Keyhole Markup Language (KML) format, regarding the history of occurrences of forest fires. The EUMETCast reception system is described, and the scientific basis of the FIR product is referenced. The operational implementation of the visualization tool is presented, and some results are shown, considering forest fire occurrences in Portugal, confirmed by the Portuguese Forestry Service.     

森林场景可视化和林火模拟仿真技术研究综述

森林是生态环境系统的重要组成部分。随着气候变暖,恶劣气候气象条件造成全球森林火灾频繁发生,给国民经济和消防救援带来巨大挑战,森林火灾已成为全球主要的自然灾害。因此,森林场景可视化建模、3维场景仿真、林火模拟仿真、火场复现、预测和灾害评估成为林业虚拟仿真研究热点。本文对树木形态结构建模技术、森林场景大规模重建和实时渲染、森林场景可视化、林火模型和林火模拟仿真等前沿技术和算法进行综述。对相关的林木、植被的形态结构表达和真实感可视化建模方法进行归纳分类,并对不同可视化方法的算法优劣、复杂度、实时渲染效率和适用场景进行讨论。基于规则的林木建模方法和基于林分特征的真实场景重建方法对大规模森林场景重建技术进行分类,基于物理模型、经验模型和半经验模型对森林火灾的林火模型、单木林火、多木林火模拟和蔓延进行总结,对影响林火蔓延的不同环境气象因子（如地形地貌、湿度、可燃物等）和森林分布对林火发生、扩散和蔓延的影响进行分析,对不同算法的优劣进行对比、分析和讨论,对森林场景可视化和林火模拟仿真技术未来的发展方向、存在问题和挑战进行展望。本文为基于森林真实场景的森林火灾模拟仿真和数字孪生沉浸式互动模拟系统的构建提供了理论方法基础,该平台可以实现森林场景快速构建、不同火源林火模拟、火场蔓延模拟仿真以及不同气象影响条件的火场预测,可对森林火场救援指挥、火场灾害评估和火场复原提供可视化决策支持。     

基于无线传感器网络的大型场所火情检测与定位算法

针对商场等大型场所火灾监控存在的火情态势估计不明、监控节点孤立、预警准确率低、火源定位不准确等问题,提出一种基于无线传感器网络的大型场所火灾检测与定位算法。采用人工神经网络对火灾检测节点数据进行学习训练和火情估计,并经过模糊推理决策,给出火灾报警信息。利用受限空间烟雾扩散模型、气体温度扩散模型实现火源定位,并准确估计火情,以提供消防人员灭火决策。从单节点神经网络火灾报警仿真实验得出单节点火灾检测概率较高,同时从多节点火情定位实验得出,火情的覆盖范围描绘准确,火源定位精度较好。理论分析和实验结果表明火灾检测和定位算法是可行的。     

北极航线通航环境评价

随着全球变暖,北极航线商业通航的可能性越来越大,北极航线受到越来越大的关注。通过北极航线的通航环境因素的分析,对北极航线通航环境进行评价,能够给未来北极航线的开发提供重要的借鉴作用。在总结北极航线现状及通航事故统计的基础上,构建了北极航线通航的评价指标体系,运用灰色模糊综合评价方法,对北极航线通航环境进行了初步评价。因为没有确切数据,指标值采用专家调查法来确定。经过分析,发现水文环境和助航设施及信息情报环境是影响北极通航的主要因素。其中,水文环境中最重要的是海冰密集度,助航设施及信息情报环境最主要的因素是破冰船和航行经验等。随着北极变暖,水文环境将逐渐转化,北极地区的助航设施及信息情报环境将逐渐成为北极通航环境的主要限制因素。研究结果能够为北极航线的利用和监控提供参考。     

Estimating subpixel fire sizes and temperatures from ASTER using multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) shortwave infrared subsystem can acquire images of active fires during daytime and night-time from a polar orbit, providing useful data on fire properties at a nominal spatial resolution of 30 m. Binary fire/no-fire counts of ASTER pixels have also been useful in evaluating the performance of widely-used fire products from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), which have a nominal spatial resolution of 1 km. However, the ASTER fire pixels are actually mixed pixels that can contain flaming, smouldering and non-burning components, and ASTER fire pixel counts provide no information about the sizes or temperatures of these subpixel components. This paper uses multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA) to estimate subpixel fire sizes and temperatures from a night-time ASTER image of a fire in California, USA, demonstrating new methods that can provide information on fires not available from other sources. As a fire's size and its temperature exert strong influences on its gas and aerosol emissions, ecological impact and spreading rates, these MESMA estimates from ASTER imagery could contribute valuable new information towards monitoring, forecasting and understanding the behaviour and impacts of many fires worldwide.     

A framework for the elderly first aid system by integrating vision-based fall detection and BIM-based indoor rescue routing

The occurrence of falls among older adults may result in life-threatening injuries and accidental deaths due to their vulnerability. As such, an advanced first aid system is significantly necessary to accurately detect falls and provide prompt assistance. However, current research primarily focused on fall prevention, fall detection, and first aid services after falling, thus lacking studies dealing with a systematic solution. To address this issue, the present research proposes an integrated framework for the elderly first aid system in an indoor environment using computer vision and building information model (BIM) techniques, which consists of three primary components: a vision-based module for fall detection, a cloud server (internet), and a BIM-based module for rescue routing. The experimental results showed that the proposed method could achieve 94.1% precision in identifying the fall status of older adults (i.e., falling or non-falling). Also, the proposed method enabled to automatically generate a rescue route in consideration of the routing accessibility for first aid in a BIM environment. The framework proposed in this study will improve the efficiency of the elderly first aid when falls occur, with shortening the rescue time to mitigate injury severity.     

Measuring the effects of structural turnout suits on firefighter range of motion and comfort

Abstract

Range of motion (ROM) can be restricted by wearing stiff and bulky clothing. This is particularly true of firefighter suits that are constructed using fabric layers to provide thermal protection from fire. This study developed an evaluation technique to quantify the loss of mobility associated with wearing firefighters’ protective suits that were deliberately selected to represent similar ergonomic design features. The ROM of 10 firefighters was measured using electro-goniometers attached to their bodies while they wore uniforms and a reference outfit, and performed specific movements. The most restrictive uniform is the Bulky suit that contained additional layers of materials in sleeves and on the knees. The Traditional Suit was more ROM restrictive than Ergonomic. The subjective evaluation of suits supported the objective assessments provided by the electro-goniometers. A 3-D body scanning technique was employed to establish a correlation between the bulkiness of firefighter outfits and subject ROM.

Practitioner Summary: This study presents a methodology for measurements of range of motion (ROM) in firefighters wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). Even small differences in designs of PPE may impact firefighters’ ROM, which can be detected by electro-goniometers providing measurements if they are attached along the joint to measure limb angular movement.