iFire 1.0 & 2.0
Intelligent fire visualisation system
Intelligent fire visualisation system
Australia's Chief Scientist, Professor Tony Haymet PhD
iFire听1.0 & 2.0 connect globally located researchers and 3D immersive systems and enable them to interact with dynamic wildfire scenarios such as those of the Australian Black Summer 2019/2020 and Los Angeles 2025.
iFire 1.0听(2021-2025)听translates CSIRO SPARK fire simulations of historical fires into 3D cinematic scenarios using the UNREAL film industry engine. It visualises moderate to high danger-rated fires. It focuses on scenarios that probe听anticipatory understanding and situational preparedness under conditions of moderate uncertainty.
iFire 2.0听(2026-2027) aims to create听probable data-based episodes by听translating a custom AI model that learns the behavioural patterns of fires simulated in applications such as SPARK, WRF-SFire and FARSITE, and computes these on the basis of real-world data into 3D cinematic scenarios. It will visualise extreme danger-rated fires. It allows users to听interactively change the weather conditions, such as wind speed and wind direction, and experience the resulting change in fire behaviour. It focuses on scenarios that probe situational awareness and decision making under conditions of changing climate uncertainty.
The 3D systems are networked across a range of platforms (Fig. 1) using software that enables users to interact with the fireground by sharing the same 3D setting in real time, no matter their smart screen platform. The platforms range from mobile 3D cinemas, 3D virtual production volumes, 3D听LED听walls, 3D headsets to 2D laptops and tablets, providing interaction for multiple distributed users at any one time. It provides specific applications for three distinct end users: researchers, responders and residents. Collaborators include听91色情片听iCinema Research Centre,听91色情片听Climate Change Research Centre, University of Melbourne Virtual Production Lab, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, AFAC (Australasian Fire & Emergency Service Authorities Council),听CSIRO/Data61, the European Network on Extreme Fire Behaviour (NERO), Fire and Rescue NSW, the Royal College of Art (UK) and SchenkWeitzdoerfer, Cologne.
The iFire 1.0 & 2.0听听program is based on the award-winning听iCASTS听 safety-training simulation system commercialised for the Australian and Chinese mining industry that has trained over 30,000 personnel across six mine locations, reduced injuries by 67%, with no more fatalities occuring since.
iFire 1.0 is currently developed through three case studies using this approach, comprising: an Australian pine plantation fire (Fig. 2, 3), an Australian grassland fire (Fig. 4, 5) and a US mountain forest fire (Fig. 6, 7).
End Users
iFire听exists in four end-user applications, each of which deploys the core听iFire听operating system.
Each听presents听users听with听problem-solving听experiences that test and expand their practical knowledge.
iFire: Pine Plantation Case Study. 2025
iFire 1.0听is focused on providing diverse audiences and stakeholders the immersive experience and practical understanding of the fires that are now becoming increasingly intense and frequent. Depicting this new landscape demands the modelling of multiple wildfire kinetic and spatial processes which cannot be understood by human cognition alone.
This requires the integration of the speed and scale of AI in establishing patterns and predicting fire behaviours with the subtlety and adaptability of human perception. iFire 2.0 involves an intelligent aesthetic that evolves and grows by learning from human behaviour. It听allows researchers and stakeholders to interact with unanticipated fire scenarios that operate independently of user expectations. By generating unforeseen behaviours, iFire 2.0 enables users to better understand and master the distributed dynamics of fire scenarios in a safe virtual environment. Assembling histories and expertise from diverse backgrounds, it integrates them into an intelligent database with a library of fire behaviours, management procedures and protocols. By offering dynamic and life-like possible encounters where users can rehearse their response, it enhances resident, responder and researcher risk perception, situational awareness and decision making.
It assembles a repertoire of expertise ranging across AI, computer graphics, creative arts, database architecture, interaction design, fire management and immersive visualisation. The end result is a visualisation eco-system that can be utilised by research labs, creative enterprises, emergency services and resident organisations in situ.听
The听iFire听program is financially supported under the Australian Research Council鈥檚 Laureate funding scheme.
ARC听Project Director:听ARC Laureate Fellow Scientia Professor Dennis Del Favero
ARC听Project Co-Investigators:听Scientia Prof. Michael J. Ostwald,听Prof. Jason Sharples, ARC Future Fellow A/Prof. Yang Song, Dr Ali Asadipour, Dr Baylee Brits, Dr Renhao Huang, Dr Susanne Thurow
Programmers: Navin Brohier, Nora Perry, Dylan Shorten
3D Modellers: Lara Clemente, Scott Cotterell
Interaction Designer: Mario Flores Gonzalez
Sound Designers: Linus Ferris, Nagida Helsby-Clark听
ARC听Project Collaborators and Partners:听see Project Collaborators and Partners
ARC听Project Title:听Burning landscapes: reimagining unpredictable scenarios
Project Funding:听ARC听FL200100004
2021-2025
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Executive Director | ARC Laureate Fellow Dennis Del Favero |
| Co-Director | Prof. Michael J. Ostwald |
| Co-Director | ARC Future Fellow Aspro Yang Song |
| Office of National Intelligence Post Doc Fellow | Dr Baylee Brits |
| ARC Laureate Post Doc Fellow | Dr Susanne Thurow (Associate Director) |
| ARC Laureate Post Doc Fellow | Dr Renhao Huang (Associate Director) |
| ARC Laureate Senior Programmer | Navin Brohier |
| ARC Laureate Programmer | Nora Perry |
| ARC Laureate Programmer | Dylan Shorten |
| ARC Laureate 3D Modeller | Scott Cotterell |
| ARC Laureate PhD | Mario Flores Gonzalez |
| ARC Laureate PhD | Frank Wu |
| CSIRO PhD | Nagida Helsby-Clark |
| ARC Laureate MA | Lara Clemente |
Australian Industry Advisory Committee
European Industry Advisory Committee
Research Committee
ARC Laureate Fellow Scientia Professor Dennis Del Favero
Executive Director
d.delfavero@unsw.edu.au