Spatio-Temporal Analysis of GPS Tracks of CODE RED: MOBILE an Experimental Mobile Scenario and Location Based Training Exercise

As part of an ongoing research project, geovisualisations of bushfires were delivered at GPS-determined locations to volunteer firefighters from the Country Fire Authority’s Macedon Ranges Group. The participants skill level ranged from basic wildfire firefighter trained through to captain of brigade. The location-based scenario training exercise is called CODE RED: MOBILE. Using information from the geovisualisations about a virtual bushfire at Hanging Rock, participants selected which houses would likely burn down after a wind change. They were free to take any path to reach the virtual houses, indicated by markers on the screen of an iPad New. They were asked to go to the virtual house location to observe the real landscape and to estimate where the virtual fire would go. Most participants took about an hour to complete the exercise. A GPS device kept track of where they went. A Fractal D score was assigned to participant’s tracks using Vilis O. Nams’ software: Fractal 5.20.0. Spatio-temporal analysis of the GPS tracks using ArcMap 10 and Geotime 5.3 found that participants undertook the exercise by following unusual tracks. Preliminary results showed that some of these participants, not following test procedure instructions closely, had sometimes undertaken more direct tracks, shown by low Fractal D scores. However, they were able to choose the correct houses assigned to visit. This type of analysis can assist in improving the design of mobile, location based exercises. It can also provide an additional means of assessing and improving firefighter performance. This paper will outline the background behind the exercise, specify the type of information that was sought and provides details of the results obtained through analysis.