Telstra sets students challenge to develop digital twins for first responders
Our first responders have some of the most difficult and high-risk jobs possible, having to make split second decisions to save lives with often minimal information.
But what if technology could make their work a little easier?
This is a question 12 students studying the Master of Information Technology (Human-Computer Interaction) sought to answer in Semester 1 2021 as part of a project run in collaboration with Telstra to design ‘digital twins’ for first responders.
Why are digital twins useful for first responders?
Digital twins are virtual representations of real-world events, processes or environments. These representations are becoming increasingly common in a range of sectors including manufacturing, urban planning, construction and disaster management.
These technologies allow people to do anything from remotely exploring a proposed built environment to developing a virtual model of a complex transport network to make predictions about traffic flow and safety.
For the students in the HCI Project subject, they were given the task of using digital twin technology to create a technological solution for a group of first responders of their choice. As part of their brief, Telstra were the client, and students were required to pitch their final project to the University’s Drs Eduardo Velloso and Jarrod Knibbe and Telstra’s Senior Product Specialist (Digital Twins) Raphael Fiorini.
It was a rewarding experience being involved with the students as their projects evolved from ideation to completion, while also being able to share with them commercial perspectives to consider towards their final output
Over the span of 12 weeks, students were required to work on a specific problem identified for the first responders they’d selected, going through a whole human-centred design cycle. This process provided students with the opportunity to gather a range of skills learnt during the course of their degree and apply to them to finding a real-world solution to a specific challenge.
Telstra’s participation provided an exciting chance for students to get real-time feedback on their pitches from one of Australia’s largest technology companies, offering a unique opportunity for students to ground their work in real industry needs and wants.
Fiorini highlighted the value this project provided for Telstra too, stating that “it was a rewarding experience being involved with the students as their projects evolved from ideation to completion, while also being able to share with them commercial perspectives to consider towards their final output.”
Here’s what the students came up with.
Some exciting and innovative solutions were on display when the students pitched their projects to the panel. One of these, Firesafe, aimed to address the challenges faced by firefighters in environments with low visibility and hidden hazards.
Using Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, student Sparsh Ghambir’s app would allow a central commander to view predictions about a particular site and deploy firefighters in a safe and effective manner in real-time. The attending firefighters would be able to see the new data via heads-up displays embedded in their helmets.
To develop this solution, Sparsh interviewed a handful of firefighters to identify the ‘pain points’ they faced in their daily work, which provided insights and the foundations for specific personas which informed the development of the app, ensuring the final prototype addressed the specific needs of this group of first responders.
Andrew Gan also used insights from interviews with another group of first responders to develop his digital solution, Paramedic Training+. His research uncovered gaps and limitations in current training practices for paramedics, and aimed to address this through virtual reality.
Using digital twins of real cases, Paramedic Training+ would reduce the gap between content provided to student paramedics and real-world scenarios, letting trainees experience scenarios that placed them virtually in situations they would encounter in the field. This experience could be delivered in two different modes – a training mode, with guided instructions on completing the task, and a ‘reality’ mode, where trainees would apply their knowledge in simulated situations without guidance.
With other projects addressing problems from predicting traffic to help first responders travel to a site faster to connecting doctors with paramedics in real-time to make crucial medical decisions earlier, the projects on display presented an exciting and promising future for the use of digital twins in our emergency services, leading to a safer world for all.
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