Author(s): Fischell, Lisa
Date: 2018
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/33791
Origin: Repositório Institucional da UNL
Subject(s): Virtual Reality; VR; Urban Search and Rescue; USAR; UAV
Author(s): Fischell, Lisa
Date: 2018
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/33791
Origin: Repositório Institucional da UNL
Subject(s): Virtual Reality; VR; Urban Search and Rescue; USAR; UAV
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies
This thesis investigates the elements of both time and accuracy that Virtual Reality (VR) has to offer in support of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) following an earthquake disaster. After an earthquake, most casualties are found in or under collapsed buildings. With limited nutritional resources and potential injuries, survival rates decrease rapidly after 72hrs. To quickly and accurately assess the overall and individual damage grade of buildings is therefore of fundamental importance to the recovery of victims. The utilised strategies of USAR teams are currently challenged by several limitations. Virtual Reality has been used to visualise three-dimensional data across many scientific research areas. The special characteristics of VR allow a more immersive and engaged interaction for the user. So far VR has been utilised to train USAR personnel, but it has not been applied as a data visualisation method. This concept could support USAR teams across the globe by enabling them to assess overall structural damage extent, visually inspect inaccessible areas and identify optimal access points in a three-dimensional environment. This thesis therefore compares standard USAR approaches, such as Street View images, 2D aerial images and videos, to 3D building models in Virtual Reality. A user study was conducted to investigate the accuracy of information obtained from the different USAR methods, as well as the time it took for the users to obtain the required information. After an explorative data analysis, a Friedman test followed by a Wilcoxon test was applied to results of the user study. The results of the test showed a significant difference between VR and Aerial Imagery. However, the trends in average task completion time as well as task completion rate suggest that VR can be identified as a useful tool to Urban Search and Rescue, improving both temporal requirement and accuracy assessment in comparison to current methods.