Virtual reality has many applications, from video gaming to treating post-traumatic stress disorder to tours of buildings at Missouri S&T and other institutions. Benjamin Kwasa, assistant professor of engineering management and system engineering, is working with the city fire department in Rolla to use virtual reality in another application – firefighter training.
“The closer we can get to the real-life situations that they deal with, the better training tool we can provide,” says Kwasa. “That translates to more effective firefighting and more effective emergency response in general and ultimately saves lives and property loss.”
Kwasa’s team began working with Rolla (Mo.) Fire and Rescue in December 2019. The team, which includes undergraduate and graduate students majoring in engineering management, computer science and physics, took photos and video of the city’s training facility to build an accurate computer model recreation of the building.