INXSOL LLC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase I: 8.6
INXSOL LLC — SBIR Phase I award from Department of Agriculture.
- Amount
- $100,000
- Agency
- Department of Agriculture
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase I
- Topic
- 8.6
- Solicitation
- USDA-NIFA-SBIR-007772
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- AZ
- Period
- 2021-03-01 → 2022-08-31
Description
ProjectSummary/AbstractTheCOVID19pandemichashighlightedtheneedtomodernizethecountry'sfirstrespondertrainingmethods.Forfirstresponders-firefightersspecifically-livetraininghasbeensuspendedvirtualtrainingisbeingattempted-sortofcobbledtogether.Ruralcommunitiesrepresenting80%ofthefirefightercommunityareimpactedbythesechangesintraining.Thereisavitalneedforfirefightersandfirst-respondingagenciestoeffectivelycommunicateandmanageresourcesduringacrisissituation.Trainingforincidentcommandinthefireservicerequiresdevelopingpersonalskillstosuperviseandmanageincidentoperations.Inadditionbuildingandretainingskillsthroughpracticeandrepetitiontostandardizeincidentoperationsandcommunicationsinahazardzonearecritical.Trainingneedstooccurnotonlywithinadepartment/organizationbutwithdifferentshiftsstationsbattalionsandacrossmunicipalmutualaidagreements.Theseskillsareappliedonthejobandpracticedusingsimulatedscenariobasedexercisesinvolvingradiocommunications.WeproposeawebbasedcommunicationssimulationplatformcalledPracticeCom(PC).Thefollowingspecificaims(SA)areproposedtoresearchthefeasibilityofdesigningtechnologytofacilitatethiscommunicationtraining.SA1-RefineFunctionalPrototypesofVirtualRadioTechnologiesAprototypesystemwasassembledandusedinavirtualtrainingpilotexerciseinvolvingparticipantsinOklahomaTexasArizonaCaliforniaandHawaiiinJuly2020.ThetechnologyiscurrentlyChromebrowserdependentandisnotoptimizedforuseofbandwidth.ThistaskwouldrefinefunctionalityandrefactorthecodedesignadjustingtheclientandserverWebRTCaudiostreamandSignalRrealtimemessagingthatkeepsparticipantsinsyncsothatmoreprocessingoccursonthecloudserverversustheclients.Theresultingtrainingtoolwouldbebroadlyaccessibleonmajorbrowsersandoperatingundermodestbandwidthrequirements.SA2:CreateInstructorScenarioControlforparticipantsandFeatureSet.Inavirtualtrainingscenarioparticipantsmaybeviewingapreparedstate/sequenceofvideographicslideorwebinteractions.SignalRtechnologyallowsforstudentwebbrowserstoberealtimelinkedtorealizeteamtraining.Thisabilitytopushmessagesenablescommandstobesenttotheconnectedbrowsers.Thisallowsthelockstepofagroupinascenarioortheindividualcontrolofatrainingparticipant'sbrowserpagetoreacttocommands.InthisSAwedevelopalockstepsequenceplayer/editorandaddinstructorcontrolstotakeadvantageofthefeaturesetandenabletheinstructortodirectindividualparticipantbrowserstoloadspecificmedia/webpages.SA3:ConductPilotTestsandRefinements.Wewillconductavirtualincidentcommand(IC)certificationclassover3-days(24hoursoftrainingtime).Theinstructor-ledexercisesinvolvescenario-basedsimulationswith10studentsand2to3instructors.Thestudentsp