Training aerial firefighting, Aix-en-Provence 2013 by Mr. Carlos Abrego

1. SEILAF: Wildfirexperience
Aerial Firefighting Europe 2013

2. 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

3. 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’

4. 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

5. The SEILAF approach

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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Orography, textures, natural elements, infrastructure

10. Orography, textures, natural elements, infrastructure

11. Water points and obstacles

12. Helibases, airports, runways

13. Fuel models and combustion status

14. Density

15. Land burned, smoldering, glowing, green…

16. Meteorology

17. 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

18. Fire on terrain

19. Wildfire at night

20. Smoke

21. Different status of combustion

22. Torching

23. Spotting

24. Wind driven

25. 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

26. Aerial entities

27. Modelized in high detail

28. Including tails and paint skins

29. Ground vehicles and firefighters

30. All in action

31. All in action

32. All in action

33. THE INTERACTION WITH SEILAF
Instructors and trainees into the SEILAF wildfirexperience

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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

37. A global perspective from ground

38. …or a detailed sight to operations

39. Using all media available at the command post

40. To command suppresion resources

41. To command suppression resources

42. 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

43. A 2000 feet perspective

44. With overall view

45. To command from air

46. 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

47. Real analog panel and cockpit

48. High detail from helicopter perspective

49. High detail from helicopter perspective

50. High detail from helicopter perspective

51. Bewaring obstacles

52. Fire operations – bamby bucket

53. Fire operations – bamby bucket

54. Teamworking

55. To fight the fire from air

56. 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

57. Where are we
Five minutes drive from SEVILLE (Spain) International Airport – 2 hours high speed train from MADRID (Spain)

58. Operated by FAASA, manufactured by INDRA