TRACENET

TRACENET (Training Centre Network on 3D and VR) is an interdisciplinary and collaborative European project, linked to the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism, the system created to co-ordinate relief and humanitarian assistance in the event of natural or man-made emergencies that exceed the response capacities of the individual affected country.

The project aims to create a network of civil protection centres, with the support of a scientific body, to develop an innovative training and exercise system through 3D scenarios and virtual reality systems for operators active during emergencies.

Within TRACENET, planners, decision-makers, experts, operational teams and civil protection modules collaborate, train and test together in an online 3D virtual environment based on geospatial data and virtual reality (VR). This innovative environment makes it possible to simulate realistic scenarios and create opportunities for acquiring skills, exchanging experiences and establishing concrete contacts even at a distance.

TRACENET also contributes to the European Civil Protection Knowledge Network, offering guidelines, lessons learnt and multi-user training courses, through an open, replicable and easily adaptable system.

The project has a duration of 27 months (January 2023 - March 2025) and is funded by the Union Civil Protection Mechanism - "Network Partnership" call (UCPM-2022-KN). It involves 5 partners from 3 EU Member States: Austria, Italy and Portugal.

The general objective of the project is to develop a network of civil protection training centres with the aim of offering technological and innovative tools to support forecasting, prevention and emergency management activities, to support decision-making, to stimulate scientific excellence, and to foster the dissemination and exchange of knowledge and skills in the field.

In particular, TRACENET aims to

1. design, develop and activate thematic communities and multidisciplinary competence centres, based on risk analysis, dedicated to civil protection operators and emergency management
2. carry out training, competence development and applied research activities to strengthen and disseminate knowledge, experience and skills in the field of civil protection;
3. create an environment (calledframework"framework') innovative, online, collaborative and realistic 3D environment for simulating complex scenarios and conducting training activities in virtual reality (VR). The 'framework' offers numerous opportunities and reduces costs and environmental impact compared to traditional face-to-face training;
4. contribute to the European UCP Knowledge Network, through guidelines, lessons learnt, multi-user training courses and an open-source, extensible and replicable system for risk simulation and online training of emergency responders;
5. promote synergies between the new thematic communities and a wide range of target groups, focusing on natural or man-made hazards and preparedness and response activities.

Planned activities:

• analysis of the state of the art, collection of solutions and past experiences, results of completed projects and ongoing activities financed by the EU with natural and man-made disasters as the main theme, as well as the solutions in terms of forecasting and prevention put in place to counter these scenarios;
• on the basis of the analysis carried out definition of guidelines and best practices on the subject;
• definition, design and implementation of the framework underlying the training network including platform, simulator, virtual reality modules, etc. for interactive hazard simulation and intervention planning
• testing and validation activities of the implemented solution, involving stakeholders and operators from the civil protection world;
• planning, organisation and implementation of training activities linking the public and private worlds, as well as involving and collaborating with other existing centres of reference in the sector
• communication and dissemination activities to stimulate the adoption of the project results for further developments and improvements.

During the 27-month project, TRACENET successfully developed and tested an innovative platform for civil protection training and simulation. The main results achieved are:

• Development of a collaborative and web-accessible3D virtual environment, based on Unreal Engine, integrating high-quality geo-referenced 3D assets (including digital surface models and 3D urban models), enabling the simulation of realistic risk scenarios.
• Implementation of an open-source virtual reality (VR) simulationframework, without licence fees, easily replicable and upgradable by uploading new 3D environments to the server.
• Operational dual-scale platform, enabling
  • the visualisation of risk at urban scale in a 3D environment;
  • immersive street-level interaction in VR, for intervention planning and assessment.
• Conducting a simultaneous international exercise in February 2025 in Austria (Laubegg), Portugal (Sintra) and Italy (Trento), involving civil protection modules, facilitators, observers, IT experts and trainers.
• Development of a structured exercise format, with immersive VR activities, briefings, virtual surveys, planning and simulation of interventions in dynamic scenarios, focused on flood events.
• Validation of the effectiveness of VR as a useful tool to assess risks, share strategies and strengthen operational coordination between teams, with positive feedback on communication, analysis, simulations and involvement.
• Participation in national and international events, including: Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (Geneva), European Civil Protection Forum (Brussels), National Civil Protection Week (Trento), Modex Austria.