The DEFACTO System: Training Tool for Incident Commanders

Techniques for augmenting the automation of routine coordination are rapidly reaching a level of effectiveness where they can simulate realistic coordination on the ground for large numbers of emergency response entities (e.g. fire engines. police cars) for the sake of training. Furthermore, it seems inevitable that future disaster response systems will utilize such technology. We have constructed a new system, DE-FACTO (Demonstrating Effective Flexible Agent Coordination of Teams through Omnipresence), that integrates state-of-the-art agent reasoning capabilities and 3D visualization into a unique high fidelity system for training incident commanders. The DEFACTO system achieves this goal via three main components: (i) Omnipresent Viewer - intuitive interface, (ii) Proxy Framework - for team coordination, and (iii) Flexible Interaction - between the incident commander and the team. We have performed detailed preliminary experiments with DEFACTO in the fire-fighting domain. In addition, DEFACTO has been repeatedly demonstrated to key police and fire department personnel in Los Angeles area, with very positive feedback.