1 BIOLOGICAL SAMPLING TRAINING SIMULATOR U.S. Environmental Protection Agency User's Guide ------- USER'S GUIDE VERSION 1 U.S. UN VI RC) N M I;NT A l... P R OTIiCTION AGIiNY BIOLOGICAL SAMPLING TRAINING SIMULATOR U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Homeland Security Research Program Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 Disclaimer The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through its Office of Research and Development funded and managed the research described herein under Contract EP-C-16-016, Task Order 9 with RTI international. It has been subjected to the Agency's review and has been approved for publication. Note that approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views of the Agency. Any mention of trade names, products, or services does not imply an endorsement by the U.S. Government or EPA. The EPA does not endorse any commercial products, services, or enterprises. Acknowledgements: Timothy Boe, Worth Calfee, Paul Lemieux US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response Homeland Security and Materials Management Division Ellen Thomas Shumaker, Lucas Blair RTI International Leroy Mickelsen US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Emergency Management CBRN Consequence Management Advisory Division Justin J. Graney North Carolina Department of Public Safety Division of Emergency Management Captain Milton (Trey) Tart City of Raleigh Fire Department ii ------- USER'S GUIDE VERSION 1 Acronym/Abbreviation List Acronym Definition EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency GB Gigabyte GPU Graphics Processing Unit HMD Head Mounted Display HSRP Homeland Security Research Program (EPA) MB Megabyte RAM Random Access Memory USB Universal Serial Bus VR Virtual Reality iii ------- USER'S GUIDE VERSION 1 Table of Contents 1 Introduction 1 Point of Contact 1 2 Getting Started 2 Installation 2 System Requirements 2 Navigation and Control 2 3 Operations Dashboard 3 4 Troubleshooting 6 iv ------- USER'S GUIDE VERSION 1 List of Figures Figure 1. Oculus Touch Controller Button Layout 3 Figure 2. Operations Dashboard 4 Figure 3. User Dashboard 5 Figure 4. Sampling Methods 5 Figure 5. Sampling Procedures 6 V ------- USER'S GUIDE VERSION 1 List of Tables Table 1. Minimum System and Software Requirements 2 vi ------- USER'S GUIDE VERSION 1 MM . Introduction The importance of disaster response training and exercise activities on emergency personnel are well documented throughout the literature. However, these exercises, especially full-scale disaster exercises, are expensive, time consuming, difficult to organize, and are limited in scope. One technology solution capable of addressing this dilemma is virtual reality (VR). VR is a simulated, immersive environment that the user can explore and interact with through the use of a head-mounted display and optional handheld controllers. Studies have found that sensory-motor tasks learned in VR could be transferred to real-life environments, and in some cases, VR-trained personnel performed better than personnel who trained in the field. VR also provides the ability to track users' movements and actions, including body position and head direction, which provides a wealth of information about where users are focusing their attention, what they observe from their own specific vantage points, and their reactions to the environment. It also provides a potential means to assess users' performance doing tasks they would be performing inside the actual environment during a response. The platform uses photogrammetry, which is a technology that captures multiple high-resolution images and combines them with software to create a realistic 3D environment with minimal level of effort compared to traditional modeling techniques. Users of the platform can walk through various rooms, delineate areas of interest throughout the environment as potential sample locations, and select the tool with which to collect the sample. A hand-tracking framework built for the Oculus Rift S Touch Controller tracks the user's hand to assess sampling patterns, percentage of area sampled, and swapping between sampling tools. It allows for precision tracking of hand movements inside the VR environment. A user's total time to collect a sample can also be recorded. The training platform seeks to reduce the burden associated with planning and conducting full-scale disaster exercises by creating an immersive experience that allows the user to explore and interact with their environment through the use of VR, while outside the potentially contaminated response environment. Furthermore, by integrating hand-tracking capabilities, a sample collection training module has been developed for training personnel on biological surface sampling techniques, and for assessing personnel's progress. The Biological Sampling Training Simulator is made in the Unity 3D game engine and optimized for the Oculus Rift S Head Mounted Display (HMD). It is designed to be an introduction or refresher training application for biological surface sampling as well as a general feasibility test for the use of VR and photogrammetry technologies in support of support sampling activities. Point of Contact Timothy Boe US EPA Office of Research and Development Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response Systems Tools and Materials Management Branch 919-541-2617 office 919-541-0496 fax boe.timothy@, epa.gov 1 ------- USER'S GUIDE VERSION 1 Installation The following steps describe how to install the Biological Sampling Training Simulator. The executable file can be placed on the desktop or added to the taskbar for easy access. Steps: 1. Double click the executable to launch the application. 2. Once the application is loaded, click the "Play" icon to start the simulation. 3. The trainee can now don the VR HMD. The trainee will spawn into a mock training area and can begin sampling. 4. The trainer can follow along with the user's progress by utilizing the dashboard (click the headset icon to switch between full screen and windowed modes). System Requirements Table 1. Minimum System and Software Requirements Minimum Specs Recommended Processor i5 Processor i7 Processor GPU Nvidia 2060 Nvidia 2080 RAM 8(513 RAM 16(51.3 RAM Operating System Windows 10 Windows 10 Disk Space 500GB 500(513 USB Port USB A 3.0 USB A 3.0 DisplayPort DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort Head Mounted Display Oculus Rift S Oculus Rift S Navigation and Control The Biological Sampling Training Simulator uses the Oculus Touch Controllers to track the trainer's arm and hand movement. Figure 1 shows the controllers and button layout. 2 ------- USER'S GUIDE VERSION 1 Tool grips Oculus menu Movement Oculus menu Movement type Movement Figure 1. Oculus Touch Controller Button Layout Operations Dashboard Upon launching the application, the operations dashboard is displayed (as shown in Figure 2). The operations dashboard is broken into four quadrants: Upper left quadrant: This section is a mirror of what is seen in the VR head mounted display. It initially loads into a training area while setup is completed in the dashboard. Click the VR icon to launch the full screen mode; Upper right quadrant: In this section the trainer can select which samples will be made available to the trainee once the simulation starts; Lower left quadrant: When the "Play" button (right facing triangle) in this section is pressed the simulation will begin; and Lower right quadrant: This section determines the level of difficulty. The difficulty scales are as follows: o Easy: In this mode the sample sites are always visible to the trainee; o Medium: In this mode the sample sites are only visible when the trainee is near the sample. For the trainer, it is important to note how the trainee moves around the space and how quickly the trainee determines the correct locations; and 3 ------- USER'S GUIDE VERSION 1 o Hard: In this mode the trainee must decide where they will sample by placing the sample template onto the virtual surface in the desired location. These locations are predetermined by the trainer prior to the trainee entering the simulated building. ^ \ / ^ - 1 1 V / \ * ¦ * F1 SO F3 SO F4 SO F2 SO Scenario Sample Selection || B | F1_S1 pT f3-si ¦1 F4-S1 n F2 SI Start Scenario Difficulty Medium The simulation simulation will Figure 2. Operations Dashboard ins once the play button is pressed, as shown in Figure 3. Metrics from the n to populate the dashboard. The trainer is shown three separate views: Upper left: This section mirrors the trainee's view (via the VR head mounted display). The trainee may navigate through the simulated building and conduct sampling in predefined areas or (depending on the level of difficulty) areas that were specified by the trainer. The VR icon with arrows can be used to convert the view to full screen; The section directly to the right of the trainee's screen displays the pattern the trainee drew for each step of sampling (specific to sampling method). Current sample name, total samples completed, and total time will be displayed below; and The bottom ot the dashboard displays statistics for the entire scenario, location stats for the current floor, and statistics for the current sample. 4 ------- USER'S GUIDE VERSION 1 Horizontal Vertical Diagonal Perimeter Current Sample Name N/A Current Time 00:05 Completed Samples 0/10 Current Room Name FirstFloor_Room1 Sample Stats Scenario Stats Location Stats Sample Name: Scenario Name: Location Name: Required Tool Correct Destination %: Correct Destination %: Correct Tool %: Correct Tool %: Selected Tool Gloves Swapped %: Gloves Swapped %: Horizontal Coverage: Figure 3. User Dashboard The simulator features three sampling methods: 1) micro vac, 2) sponge, and 3) swab. Trainers may select the appropriate sampling method according to the substrate of the sampling area. A 3D view of each sampling method is shown in Figure 4. Micro Vac Sponge Swab Figure 4. Sampling Methods Once the appropriate sampling method has been selected, the trainer then follows the validated sampling procedure: as shown in Figure 5 (specific to the chosen sampling method). The simulator tracks the trainer's hand movements (i.e., speed and direction) and distance from the hypothetical surface being sampled. The simulator captures and displays this information in the User Dashboard as shown in Figure 3. 5 ------- USER'S GUIDE VERSION 1 Horizontal s~\ /\ s~\ Vertical Diagonal Figure 5. Sampling Procedures Perimeter Troubleshooting The following steps should be considered when troubleshooting the application: Most issues can be resolved by either restarting the application, headset, or computer; CHAPTER ~ Confirm that the hardware drivers are up-to-date. Especially for the graphics card and the Oculus application; and If the controllers are not responsive, check the battery level. This concludes the User's Guide. If you have any questions, please email the point of contact listed in Chapter 1. 6 ------- USER'S GUIDE VERSION 1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Homeland Security Research Program Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 ------- |