HoloLens helps visualise fire safety items

Fire safety is of paramount importance for all industries, which is why regular surveys need to be made. A UK company is using Microsoft’s HoloLens mixed reality system to make fire surveys quicker and more accurate.

Technology company Luminous has developed the RIVO system, which starts with a technician digital mapping a building. After this, a technician wears a HoloLens that overlays the real world view of the world with computer graphics. The technician then tags fire-related safety items such as smoke alarms, extinguishers, and exits. An example of how RIVO tagging works is when the technician views a smoke alarm, the HoloLens displays a list of smoke alarm models for the technician to select the correct one.

After tagging has been completed, the information is mapped onto a 3D model of the building, which is viewed on a computer. This means that managers responsible for fire safety can easily review the fire safety equipment and spot areas that need more equipment. Items like safety signs and fire safety equipment that might be missing can easily be spotted.

Once the building has been mapped, fire surveys can be quicker. A technician wearing the HoloLens simply checks that all items tagged by the RIVO system are where they should be.

The RIVO system could help fire safety training and risk management. The information gathered by the system could also be made available to emergency services so that, for example, firefighters would have better access in case of a fire.