The Center for Environmental, Geotechnical and Applied Sciences at Marshall U. revealed a visualization technology on Thursday, that could help save lives in a mining disaster. The technology, known as visualization, replicates real world locations and allows the user to control an avatar that explores locations from anywhere with an Internet connection.
“One of the reasons we got this $4 million technology was the Sago and Arocoma mining disasters,” said Tony Szwilski, professor of information technology and engineering at Marshall and director of CEGAS. “We are looking to recreate a real-world disaster in the virtual world, where we can train people how to deal with it without the problems that arise.”
The Sago and Arocoma mine disasters occurred 17 days apart in January 2006, ultimately claiming the lives of 14 miners. On February 1, 2006, Gov. Joe Manchin ordered all mining production to cease until safety checks were made. On April 5, 2010, an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine claimed the lives of 29 miners.
Mines could be digitally recreated and matched using Computer Aided Drafting and Design diagrams from the mining company, Szwilski said. CADD has been around for decades in two-dimensional form, but a virtual model can now be created that can allow someone to see the inside of the mine.
Complementing the three-dimensional model was an Organic Motion demo. Once fully developed, this could allow exploration of the digital mine differently than using a mouse and keyboard or a black suit covered in sensors.
“A lot of the media experts on television, very few have been inside the actual mine, but now they can go there virtually,” Szwilski said.
He predicted that, with funding, all the mines in West Virginia could be modeled and their cyber infrastructure available to see online. The layout of the mine shown for the demonstration can be found at secondlife.com, a virtual world that anyone can visit.
Interim Senator Carte Goodwin, appointed by Gov. Manchin to fill the late Robert Byrd’s Senate seat, attended the revealing to observe the technology at work. Goodwin will cede his Senate seat to either Manchin or challenger John Raese, pending the result of the special election on November 2.
“You can see this technology helping in the medical and biomechanical fields, as well as my golf swing. There are many uses from the very important to very trivial, there are a lot of uses for this technology,” Goodwin said. “Marshall had record freshman enrollment this year and means so much to this community, that it was an honor to come down and see all the stuff Marshall has going on down here.”
Szwilski added that an upcoming disaster model the CEGA is working on will simulate a “dirty” bomb detonation, something completely unfeasible to be tested in a real world situation.