Games Saving Lives: First Response Simulations

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EDGE (Enhanced Dynamic Geo-Social Environment), the product of a joint effort by the U.S. Army and the Department of Homeland Security intended to train military and first responders, debuted with a live demonstration by the Sacramento, Calif., police and fire departments last November. As a result of feedback from that demonstration, DHS plans to offer the application to other agencies and departments in early 2014.

EDGE presented Sacramento first responders with a double threat: A half-dozen terrorists surge into a downtown hotel, firing on civilians. As police arrive, the terrorists set fires in the lobby and on an upper floor. The command center must coordinate police, fire and emergency medical responses.

According to GCN knowing that the Army had done work on active-shooter simulations, DHS reached out to the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) in late 2012.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

“With a limited budget, we have to look at leveraging our investment with other agencies,” said Christine Lee, program manager at DHS’s Science & Technology Directorate. “The U.S. Army is the leading federal agency in the development of these virtual-training tools, so we reached out to them. We’re basically leveraging our multimillion dollar Army investment to develop a realistic tool.”

According to Matt Kaufman, chief of the Technology and Innovation Division of TRADOC, the Army was already working on an active-shooter simulation running on the Unreal Engine 3 game engine. “Instead of trying to pay for the development costs we wanted to leverage the capabilities of a commercial product but ensure through our efforts that it supports the government,” Kaufman said. “We’re leveraging what the commercial industry does very, very well.”