模拟野火
虚拟世界教会业主如何防范野火
Michael 麦克洛 has watched his home in the forested foothills north of Moscow go up in flames many times — in a virtual reality simulation he helped develop as part of a multidisciplinary University of Idaho team.
由国家合作推广系统资助创建的 保护避难所，火焰山 模拟-以麦克洛的宽敞为特色, ranch-style house — launched in 2015 as an educational tool to help homeowners in the urban-wildl和 interface protect their properties from wildfires.
火焰团队，包括首席研究员 乔伊Peutz 与 bet365亚洲官网扩展, 麦克洛 和 K.D. Hatheway-Dial 两者都有 工商经济学院, 布莱恩Cleveley 与 虚拟技术与设计程序 和 Lori Wahl 与 农业与生命科学学院 — is wrapping up a second simulation project aimed at promoting wildfire safety.
最新的虚拟现实项目获得了一年的资助, $35,000 grant from the USDA’s National Institute of 食物 和 农业, 由扩展灾害教育网(EDEN)管理. In addition to improving the original simulation, the team is adding a second virtual scenario, 大火郊区, featuring a bungalow home in a subdivision adjacent to a high-desert environment. 这笔拨款还包括宣传模拟的工作, 包括通过公共活动, a webinar for 扩展 educators 和 nationwide outreach to 扩展 professionals involved in EDEN.
玩游戏
麦克洛’s 业务 429 students are aiding in the tool’s marketing 和 are developing a toolkit to help 扩展 educators share the simulation 与 public. 类，又称 汪达尔人的解决方案这是一家由学生经营的非营利性企业.
The latest updates can be played online or via the Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headset. 就像最初的模拟一样, 沙漠版本将挑战玩家, 谁从选择化身开始, to scout the home 和 property for wildfire risks 和 take corrective actions. 玩家也会对家庭进行重大的结构调整, 比如安装金属屋顶和更换乙烯基护墙板. 当野火到达时，模拟结束, players who make the right decisions watch the flames fizzle 与out causing damage to their property. Those who don’t make the necessary improvements witness their homes getting engulfed.
“Property owners engage in assessing 和 underst和ing best practices 和 hardening their structures 和 property against wildfire while increasing their knowledge of time-critical evaluation procedures when threatened by a wildfire,佩茨说. “这就是我们正在使用的工具, but this grant is really about putting the tool in the h和s of educators who need it. 这是一种有趣的学习方式.”
虚拟的家，真实的后果
麦克洛证明了模拟的有效性, as he’s been motivated to make many of the top-scoring virtual changes on his actual property. 例如, 他把他的大丙烷罐移到离车库更远的地方, 他每年都会清理房子周围的杜松树, 夏天来临之前，他把柴棚里的柴火都清空了, he thoroughly waters the vegetation surrounding his home 和 he’s replaced some cedar siding 与 metal 和 fiber cement siding.
此外, his family has assembled a “go bag” containing essential items in case of an emergency evacuation, 玩家在模拟中完成的任务是什么. Covering his home’s vents to eliminate entry points for floating embers — another point of emphasis of the simulation — remains on his to-do list. 在现实世界中做出改进, 麦克洛 has sought to strike a balance between fire safety 和 maintaining aesthetics.
“It’s not realistic to expect people to make their property 100% fireproof,” 麦克洛 said. “At the end of the day you don’t want to live in a concrete block house surrounded by acres of rock. 你最终会做出权衡.”
The new 大火郊区 simulation will be modeled after the Avimor neighborhood adjacent to sagebrush steppe habitat north of Boise.
“Our fire advisors said these types of neighborhoods are a growing educational challenge,沃尔说。, 高级服装讲师, textiles 和 design who lent her artistic skills 和 perspective as an avid gamer to the project. “They are made up of homeowners who have lived in urban settings 和 are now moving to these quasi-rural neighborhoods that provide a false sense of safety.”
构建虚拟世界
这个团队已经在一起工作了十多年. Their first simulation was a nutrition game funded 与 an Idaho State Department of Education grant. 他们还创建了一个个人理财模拟. 这些游戏不再被平台所支持.
克利夫利和学生学习 虚拟技术与设计 in the College of Art 和 Architecture have created the virtual worlds.
“合作是我们的头等大事. Everybody brings their expertise,克利夫利说 of the Blaze team’s diverse membership. “我会把一些东西放在那里，我们会努力改进它. 合作的努力使这个东西更强大.”
Cleveley believes the wildfire simulation is effective because it allows players to experiment 和 learn what works through trial 和 error, 而不是简单地告诉他们最佳实践.
“My greatest hope for this is it becomes a tool that educators or fire professionals or building professionals or insurance professionals can use 与ir constituents so people in the wildl和-urban interface can make informed decisions,克利夫利说. “在你和屋顶承包商说话之前, 也许你对不同的屋顶类型有更多的了解. When you start a conversation 与 a contractor, you’re starting from a place of being informed.”
The “Advancing Agrosecurity 和 Community Resilience Through Collaboration, Capacity-Building 和 扩展 Program Innovation Project” was funded 与 a one-year, $35,USDA-NIFA提供的000美元资助, 其中百分之百是联邦的份额, 根据分奖编号. F0008724402017.
