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Inundation VR that accumulates experiences of disasters in a safe environment

INTRODUCTION

A large-scale disaster is a terrifying thing that suddenly deprives us of our daily lives. There are two types of disasters: one is sudden, like an earthquake, and the other is a tsunami or rainfall disaster where you can evacuate due to a warning sign. A review of damage survey research data from previous large-scale water disasters reveals that too many lives could have been saved if people had escaped. The most important thing that motivates people to take action to evacuate is the experience of a disaster. However, the experience of disasters and lessons are not something that can be obtained casually. Therefore, Nippon Koei is focusing on the production of realistic disaster simulation image "inundation VR" that is connected to experience.

PROFILE

  • General Manager, Digital Innovation Division, Business Strategy Headquarters, Nippon Koei Co., Ltd.
    Specially Appointed Professor, International Research Institute for Disaster Science, Tohoku University (Visiting professors)

    Masaaki Sakuraba

    Joined in 1994. Since joining the company, he has been engaged in river and coastal fields, including hydraulic experiments, numerical simulations, and information system design and development in the river field. Received Ph.D. (Engineering) in March 2004. After taking office as the director of the Center for Advanced Research at Research & Development Center in July 2018, he started research and development related to AI and digital application technology. Since July 2020, he has promoted overall DX for the Nippon Koei Group as General Manager of the Digital Innovation Department of the Business Strategy Headquarters (currently General Manager of the Digital Innovation Division).

  • Center for Advanced Research at Research & Development Center, Nippon Koei Co., Ltd.
    Project Associate Professor, International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University(Visiting professors)

    Kazuya Nojima

    Obtained a Ph.D. (Engineering) by working on computational grid generation and optimization problems for 3D FEM fluid analysis. Cultivated analysis technology and network construction technology at a company specializing in numerical analysis after doctoral course, and joined the company in 2012 after the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake. Engaged in many numerical simulations, including tsunami disaster prevention. Feeling the importance of visualizing disasters, he started developing VR/AR technology in 2014. As an expert in XR technology, he promotes the utilization of VR/AR/MR technology and the expansion of production bases in the Nippon Koei Group.

  • Research & Development Center/ Center for Technology Development, Nippon Koei Co., Ltd.

    Yotaro Watanabe

    Joined in 2021. Assigned to the Hydraulics and Water Quality Group of Center for Technology Development. Engaged in work and research and development from the perspective of numerical simulations related to flood disaster prevention, such as tsunami inundation analysis and flood inundation analysis. Since 2022, he has been involved in the development of flooded VR and is using his knowledge of the Metaverse to advance the technology.

  • *The department name, job title, and interview content were at the time of the interview.

STORY

The current inundation VR is the result of pioneering efforts whenever a new technology is announced.

―Technology is constantly evolving in the world of image, trying to get closer to the real world. In the field of disaster prevention, there has always been a demand for realistic visual representations that are linked to disaster experiences. How did Nippon Koei, a disaster prevention professional who develops VR technology in its own laboratory, provide a solution to this problem? We interviewed Mr. Sakuraba, Mr. Nojima, and Mr. Watanabe who are involved in the project.

Nojima
In tsunami simulations, attempts have always been made to visualize images using cutting-edge and unprecedentedly realistic expressions. The reason for this is that, in a tsunami disaster, which is difficult to imagine from an inundation forecast map, people will be able to gain experience in a safe environment and be able to act in the event of a large-scale disaster. It is clear from various studies that the more realistic the images, the greater the experience gained. We have continued to develop our own infrastructure and disaster prevention perspectives in cooperation with the national and local governments.
Sakuraba
2016 was the year that changed the most in terms of hardware. It was the year when VR, which until then had been a large-scale technology that filled a room with screens, was overwhelmingly miniaturized with the advent of head-mounted displays, that is, goggles. As a disaster prevention professional, our company has been producing disaster simulation images since the time when the results of 3D analysis were displayed on a flat monitor. Therefore, we believe that we have a considerable advantage in this area. There are disaster prevention professionals and VR professionals, but there are not many professionals who have worked on both disaster prevention and VR for many years.
Watanabe
Up until now, many of our inundation VR customers have been national and local governments. However, in recent years, collaboration with private companies has also increased. In 2022, we jointly exhibited with a major non-life insurance company at the "Earthquake Countermeasure Technology Exhibition" in Osaka and Yokohama. With the increasing number of collaborations with private companies that want to utilize inundation VR, I feel that we have entered an era when the mission of saving the lives of many people can be embodied in business.
Nojima
We are not satisfied with the current state of inundation VR, which has surprised many people. With the advent of the latest technology, basic development, which used to require labor, is becoming labor-saving. That is why I would like to enhance the "ingenuity" section, such as linking content that teaches knowledge about tsunamis and improving the accuracy of fine details. From now on, I think that it will become an inundation VR that is unique to Nippon Koei, a comprehensive consultant.

3D modeling and visualization technology can be linked with various urban development techniques.

―The realistic VR images become the experience of a disaster, leading to preparations and evacuation actions in the event of an actual disaster. InundationVR has the potential to save the lives and livelihoods of many people, but the results are difficult to express in numbers. What kind of rewards and sense of mission do the three people involved in this project have in their daily work?

Nojima
You never know when a disaster will strike, and you don't want to experience it in the first place. However, without experience, fear cannot be understood, and it will not lead to preparation or initial action. Through inundation VR technology, I would like to increase the number of people who can escape and be saved in the event of a large-scale disaster that will surely occur somewhere in Japan in the future. To that end, more than anything else, realistic images are necessary, and I believe that there is still room for growth in both hardware and software. We are professionals in infrastructure and disaster prevention, and we are working on our daily work with the idea that we should make a breakthrough as we have cultivated VR technology for a long time.
Sakuraba
As Nippon Koei is reforming DX, we are particularly focusing on 3D modeling and visualization technology. Our company has departments related to various infrastructures such as dams, rivers, roads, railways, cities, transportation, electric power, and disaster prevention, and we have refined our 3D modeling and visualization technology in each field. Before moving to DX, it was sometimes difficult to share ideas and data between departments, but now it's different. A wealth of resources within the company quickly merged and began to create a chemical reaction. Private sector collaboration has increased, and we are at the stage where both social contribution and business have come together, and the inundation VR project is likely to become even more interesting.
Watanabe
When explaining about inundation VR at exhibitions and other events, I realized that people were not even aware of the basic fact that a 1-meter tsunami would not allow people to survive, and a 2-meter tsunami would wash away wooden buildings. If you can learn such basics while watching high-definition and realistic inundation VR, I think that the effect of the experience will probably improve dramatically. I'm looking forward to making it a total package as a technology that protects the lives and livelihoods of as many people as possible.
The experience and flood VR image at the exhibition

An era will come when more region-specific disaster prevention plans will be developed based on highly accurate tsunami analysis results.

―Nippon Koei’s inundation VR project team has been pursuing VR images that are as realistic as possible. What kind of future will be opened as this technology evolves? We asked them to talk about the future, along with the problems and solutions they see now.

Sakuraba
The significance of this technology is that the disaster prevention experience can be completed in a digital space. Although VR has the strong impression of digitization and visualization, we have thought of it as a means rather than an end. For many years, we have been working in conjunction with the national and local governments to increase the number of “experiences”. VR technology exists to achieve that goal. As for how to use inundation VR in the future, we believe that it will be indispensable for upgrading disaster prevention plans. Because the analysis data itself projected onto VR is highly accurate, it is a clear departure from conventional data such as the time of tsunami arrival and maximum inundation depth. You can also see the progress in detail, and the accuracy is higher than the mesh displayed on the hazard map so far, making it possible to formulate a specific disaster prevention plan for a narrower area.
Nojima
The software has not caught up with the evolution of the hardware. Machines are getting better and better, but the way to project good images on them is not automatically upgraded. In other words, because our own efforts are important, we believe that our experience in various infrastructure and disaster prevention as a general consultant will come in handy.
On-site is always a series of trial and error. We performed a simulation of a debris flow in a certain place and created a video with a thorough system that combined topographical data, aerial photographs, and numerical measurements of the land. However, the person from there said, "Something is still wrong." When equipment improves, people have high expectations. There are many things that are said to be more and more, but I think that the key to creating realistic 3D images lies in those needs, and I am working hard every day.
Watanabe
I would like to aim to provide more friendly disaster preparedness content for the elderly. In fact, at the exhibition, there were times when we couldn't even get elderly people to put on VR goggles. They said “I am afraid to experience" and "I can imagine without experiencing". Without experience, preparation and initial action are not connected. We will think of ways to get as many people as possible to experience disaster prevention in VR.

―Inundation VR is an opportunity to protect people's current lives. We want as many people as possible to help us in the event of a large-scale disaster that is likely to cause us to lose our daily lives. This wish is the wish of everyone involved in disaster prevention, and it is also the wish of Nippon Koei, which has been engaged in disaster prevention work for many years. Nippon Koei is striving to improve its technology with the aim of both "enhancing people's prosperous lives" and "preventing the loss of people's prosperous lives."

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