Exploitation of wireless sensor data in virtual reality for the provision of comprehensive support to tunnel safety training and emergency management

Twenty years of tunnel incidents have produced more than 700 victims worldwide. In Europe alone, there have been more than 60 road accidents in tunnels. Major tunnels are not immune: Mont Blanc (March 1999), Tauern (May 1999), and Saint Gotthard (October 2001), produced 62 deaths and multiple injuries. Despite structural and safety systems improvements, a number of factors must be addressed to ensure maximum safety. Factors include preparedness, timely support to the decision-making process, and planning optimal interventions in emergency management situations. This paper discusses the integration of wireless sensor networks (WSN) and virtual reality (VR) for through-life support to tunnel safety and emergency operations management. A WSN system designed for roadside applications is employed for environmental and traffic monitoring, event detection, and indoor localization. Data from the WSN is passed to a VR application. The VR application provides a 1:1 scale 3D model of the locale; allowing the injection and visualisation of detected events, locations, and other relevant information to support training and emergency situations. The modules presented were implemented and tested during the EU FP7 project SAVEME, which developed a system to detect incidents in transportation hubs and to support optimal evacuation guidance for multiple differently-abled travellers. For tunnel-specific challenges, SAVEME collaborated with the Gotthard Tunnel, CNVVF (Italian National Fire Brigade), and ANAS (Italian National Road Company). Testimonials and results obtained during training and live trials indicate how such a system can improve timeliness and provide responders with valuable additional capabilities in the event of an emergency.