# PHS 2019-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC, and FDA for Small Business Innovation Research Gra

> **NIH ALLCDC R43** · CELL PODIUM · 2020 · $150,000

## Abstract

Summary/Abstract - Mixed-Reality Sensor and Hazard Simulator for Large-Scale Field Exercises
A goal of HAZMAT worker and responder field training exercises is to present realistic experiences involving PPE, tools,
hazard sensors, and mock hazards so that learners can improve their skills. However, while mock hazards, PPE, and
tools are readily available to the training community, sensors do not operate with mock hazards. Because HAZMAT
workers and responders use the readings from sensors to decide on their actions in the field, making sensor readings
and interpreting them are critical skills, and the ability of a HAZMAT training program to teach these skills is significant.
Cell Podium, in collaboration with the Center for Public Health Workforce Development (CPHWD) at the Rutgers School
of Public Health, prototyped a simulator of handheld gas and radiation sensors for HAZMAT training. A cell phone app
simulates a handheld sensor, and displays readings in real-time as if mock hazards in the training exercise were real.
Prior to the exercise, the instructor places a small beacon on each mock hazard. The system generates sensor readings
based on the learner’s proximity to the mock hazards and the virtual nature of the hazards specified by the instructor.
Beacon-based simulation cost-effectively achieves the realism desired by instructors in exercises with localized mock
hazards, such as a leaky drum whose effect is limited to a few meters. However, the limited range of beacons, and their
representation of hazards as point sources, do not lend themselves to the simulation of a large area hazard such as a
large spill, or an environmental incident such as a flood. The steady annual increase in the number of such large-scale
incidents highlights the significant need for realistic sensor simulation in large-scale incident training exercises.
Large-scale hazard and sensor simulation for emergency response training exercises requires a technology based on
hazard area and not on modeling hazards as point sources with beacons. To achieve this requirement cost-effectively
and mitigate technological risk, the proposed effort will develop and assess a system that innovatively combines assets
already in use by the responder community, emerging geo-location technologies, and resources from the Cell
Podium/Rutgers beacon-based prototype.
Responder assets to be integrated include the Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEO®)
system. The proposed effort is the first to interface CAMEO with realistic large-scale multi-responder experiential
training exercises. When the instructor specifies the hazards in CAMEO, the training system will virtualize the plumes
and the safety zones (exclusion, contamination, and support), track the learners and the zones, and display realistic
readings on their handheld sensor simulator apps. By building upon the beacon-based prototype, trainers will have the
option to choose the most convenient and cost-effective compo...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10081475
- **Project number:** 1R43OH012129-01
- **Recipient organization:** CELL PODIUM
- **Principal Investigator:** Cesar Bandera
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $150,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2021-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10081475

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10081475, PHS 2019-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC, and FDA for Small Business Innovation Research Gra (1R43OH012129-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10081475. Licensed CC0.

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