Hierarchical Grid Referenced Normalized Display (HiGRND)

In an Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) situation, the ability for the rescuers to maintain an accurate and comprehensive situational awareness is critical to allow them to maximize their effectiveness in a chaotic and dangerous environment. Timeliness is paramount to saving lives, and miscommunications lead to potentially unnecessary deaths. 21st Century Systems, Incorporated is pleased to propose continued research and development of its successful intelligent real-time display Hierarchical Grid Referenced Normalized Display (HiGRND) to provide first responders with an intuitive, real-time, and accurate visual representation of the situation and environment. In Phase I, we demonstrated HiGRND s capability of visualizing complex urban settings in real-time virtual reality. In Phase II, we propose to increase the number of ways that three dimensional and two dimensional structural information can be bridged into the HiGRND application. We will also improve on the algorithms used to approximate structural elements when there is no preexisting data. Additionally, we intend to integrate intelligent agent technologies for added decision support functionality. We will continue to leverage our existing 3D rendering engine (based on a commercial gaming engine) and publish/subscribe communication mechanisms to allow flexible deployment options, scaled appropriately for the capabilities of the available hardware in the field.