The Immersive Media camera system can be transported on a backpack and used to capture detailed video of campuses, interiors, coastlines, historical sites, and more.

Every picture tells a story, but high-definition, 360-degree imagery can put you in a real situation, able to look around in all directions and notice the details.

RENCI’s research using a Dodeca 2360 camera system from Portland, Oregon-based Immersive Media aims to recreate real spaces in cyberspace using an 11-camera, geo-referenced imagery system that shoots high resolution video in full 360 degrees. The system collects huge amounts of data: 1 million pixels per second, or 1 gigabyte per minute.

The possible uses for the Immersive Media system are many, but RENCI’s current focus is on uses for disaster mitigation and response. The camera system attaches to a custom backpack and can be carried into the field after tornadoes, hurricanes or other disasters. The system’s high-resolution capabilities capture interviews and damage assessments faster and more accurately than paper.

RENCI plans to survey the entire North Carolina coast with the camera system to give emergency responders an accurate “before” picture of coastal communities that could be compared to 360-degree video shot after a damaging storm passes through.

“The system can give emergency responders an accurate picture of evacuation routes, beaches and their characteristics, and private and commercial properties,” said Scott Madry, a geospatial data scientist and part of RENCI’s emergency management research team. “Even more importantly, the system makes a great damage assessment tool.”

Although research with the camera system now targets disaster mitigation and response, the setup has many practical uses. Universities could capture walking tours of their campuses, buildings and recreation resources, post the imagery on the Web and use it as a recruiting tool. Communities could capture 360-degree video of commercial building sites and tourist attractions. Public safety officials could document streets and walkways and discover areas that are poorly lit or otherwise unsafe.

For more information, see http://www.renci.org/focus-areas/disaster-and-environmental-research/immersive-media

CHAPEL HILL, NC, March 3, 2009 – RENCI will showcase new disaster management tools and programs at the annual spring conference of the North Carolina Emergency Managers Association (NCEMA) in Sunset Beach, NC.

The conference, to be held March 8-11, will bring emergency managers and researchers from across the state together to discuss current trends, tools and technologies in emergency management. RENCI will feature its 360-degree video system, a new version of the North Carolina Emergency Management Web Portal, and a new training course – “Thunderstorms” – a unit of the NC-FIRST weather portal. The RENCI exhibitor’s booth also will demonstrate and display its disaster management tools.

The new video system, made by Immersive Media of Portland, OR, acquires high definition imagery from a moving vehicle or a person on foot that covers a full 360 degrees. The system uses 11 high-definition video cameras and stitches the images together into one high-definition video. RENCI is testing the system in rapidly assessing disaster situations with video shot from a car, helicopter and even a Segway scooter. Before the start of the hurricane season, RENCI plans to capture complete visual data of the North Carolina coastline so that emergency responders will have a comprehensive “before” picture of the coast in case a hurricane strikes.

The new North Carolina Emergency Management Web Portal, a collaborative website that allows users to post their own content and working groups to post training opportunities, documents and other content, has many new and updated features. The portal includes:

• A quarterly newsletter with news and articles by the members,
• A blog by Rocky Hyder, president of the NCEMA,
• NC-FIRST weather information portal, where live weather data is posted for the user’s residential area.
• An instant messaging feature

RENCI will also field test one unit of its NC FIRST training course “Thunderstorms.” The unit presents an in-depth discussion of thunderstorm meteorology that is applicable to emergency managers and an introduction to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) products that can be used for understanding thunderstorms. The training will be presented by Jessica Proud, RENCI meteorologist and NC-FIRST program manager, and Jeff Orrock, warming coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Raleigh.

The Thunderstorms unit will be incorporated into the NC-FIRST training course, which now part of North Carolina’s Emergency Management Certification Program offered through 27 community colleges across the state.

RENCI…Catalyst for Innovation
The Renaissance Computing Institute, a multi-institutional organization, brings together multidisciplinary experts and advanced technological capabilities to address pressing research issues and to find solutions to complex problems that affect the quality of life in North Carolina, our nation and the world. RENCI leverages its expertise and resources in leading edge computing, visualization, networking and data technologies to catalyze new collaborations and solve problems. Founded in 2004 as a major collaborative venture of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina, RENCI is a statewide virtual organization.

Emergency managers and responders across the state attended the three-day conference, held Oct. 12-16 in Clemmons. The conference provided a forum about the latest topics, tools and technology in emergency management.

RENCI seized the opportunity to demonstrate its new and existing innovations through a training session and exhibitor’s booth. Over 60 participants attended the RENCI training session about interactive desktop conferencing and the NC FIRST weather portal.

The RENCI booth also featured existing programs and introduced new disaster research projects, such as the North Carolina Geographic Information Systems (NC GIS) Team, the lightning detection network, and the Immersive Media camera system. Over 170 people visited the booth including U.S. Rep. David Price (D-Durham). Rep. Price, who is chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee, was recognized by the National Emergency Managers Association for his continued efforts to help state and local emergency managers meet preparedness goals. Recently, Rep. Price visited RENCI headquarters in Chapel Hill and expressed his appreciation for RENCI’s collaborations with the NC emergency management community to improve disaster preparedness, response and mitigation.

The booth also included a video presentation about the Severe Weather Data Inventory (SWDI), a collaboration with the National Climatic Data Center and RENCI’s engagement center at UNC Asheville. The SWDI provides efficient and user-friendly access to an extensive archive of severe weather data. It assists in quality control of severe weather products, facilitates new research and assists in disaster response and mitigation.

Other disaster research tools and prototypes presented at the conference by RENCI are:

• SmileTiger. This is the RENCI-hosted video conferencing system that is available to all NCEMA members. SmileTiger is a low-cost and effective solution that allows members of the NC emergency management community to keep in touch.

• NCEMA Portal. RENCI hosts a Microsoft SharePoint collaborative website for the NCEMA that allows all members to update and post their own content. The site is used by NCEMA committees and working groups and to post training opportunities, documents, and other content.

• Immersive media camera system. RENCI recently acquired a system that captures 360-degree high definition images from a moving vehicle. The system will be tested for its usefulness in rapidly assessing disaster situations from both a car and a helicopter. RENCI has acquired its first data from the camera and will soon begin to collect comprehensive data along the coast in preparation for the next hurricane season.

• NC GIS Team. RENCI and its engagement centers at UNC Asheville and East Carolina University are creating a new volunteer geographic information systems (GIS) support group that will utilize RENCI expertise and capabilities to gather information for county and state emergency managers during disasters. Local capabilities are often overwhelmed when disasters strike, and that’s when emergency personnel need critical information about real-time events. NC GIS Team will make RENCI’s computing resources, staff, and network connections available to state and county emergency workers to ensure they have they have the information they need to respond quickly across the state.

• Lightning detection network. This device is a cost effective way for emergency teams to detect lightning strikes in real-time and display the data visually in a Web portal environment.

• NC FIRST. This weather information portal keeps emergency managers informed about local weather conditions and helps them interpret and easily access scientific weather data so they can make better decisions during weather emergencies.

• Automated Vehicle Location (AVL). This new RENCI prototype is a very low cost system developed to track emergency vehicles in the field. The system relies on open source software and can track vehicles using a Blackberry, a laptop computer and a mobile phone aircard.

RENCI…Catalyst for Innovation
The Renaissance Computing Institute brings together teams of talented researchers, engineers, technologists and leaders in government, business, the arts and humanities to attack major research questions and community issues in ways that accelerate discovery and drive innovation. RENCI has nationally significant expertise and capabilities in high performance computing, visualization, collaborative tools, networking, device prototyping, and data systems as well as engagement sites across the state. Founded in 2004 as a major collaborative venture of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina, RENCI is a statewide virtual organization.  For more, see www.renci.org.