In response to yesterday’s post about my return to Second Life, reader Deep Semaphore pointed me toward Play2Train, a simulation of various emergency scenarios done in Second Life, developed under the guidance of the Idaho Bioterrorism Awareness and Preparedness Program.
From their site:
Play2Train is a virtual training space in SecondLife designed to support Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), Simple Triage Rapid Transportation (START), Risk Communication and Incident Command System (ICS) Training. This virtual environment spreads over two islands Asterix and Obelix (65536 x 2 sq. meters), with one island dedicated to a virtual town and the other a virtual hospital. The design of this virtual environment is influenced by dioramas frequently used by emergency services to support their tabletop exercises. A diorama is a partially three dimensional full-size replica or scale model of a landscape typically showing historical events, nature scenes, cityscapes, etc. for purposes of education or entertainment, source: wikipedia. Play2Train will provide opportunities for training through interactive role playing and will be the foundation for our emergency preparedness educational machinima.
This is utterly incredible stuff, a fantastic amount of work went into this. Check out the site for some amazing vdeos of their simulation in action.
Loving their island’s names.
Can’t get to them though 🙁
Hey,
This is great news. I started a blog about a week ago that deals with the need for just such a program. I have no experience with Second Life, so I rather doubted they would allow any sort of training programs that would deal with emergency preparedness or disaster response. I am glad someone is working on it. I would love to get involved. Just curious on one thing though: will they allow the recreation of disasters on these islands to put people’s training to the test?
Thank you very much…
Gene
This is Gene again.
I just looked a bit at the play2train video of the restaurant scene. So, I guess that answers my question. It looks like I am only two years behind the generation of the idea, but that does not mean I cannot get involved.
Thanks again…
Gene, I have no idea; I’m not sure to what extent they use Second Life in their training, or even how well it can replace or supplement actual live training.
Any uses of virtual worlds, including Second Life, beyond sex, dance parties and advertising is pretty astonishing. And the level of detail and complexity shown here is amazing. I can definitely see how simulations in SL can give a good overview of the different stages of an emergency response plan, so someone new to it can see how the different organizations work together, before getting out on the streets and in the thick of confusion.
Tipa,
Of course, nothing can replace actual exercises or classroom participation when it comes to becoming certified or trained in emergency response planning or the implemetation of a plan, yet the young people of today are increasingly turning to the computer technologies in pursuits of their fields of interest. In the field of emergency management, there is certainly no exception. For now, play2train feels SL is their best platform; therefore, (unless there is another platform near to come out) I may feel compelled to use that one.
thanks again