3D mapping system for indoor environments filled with fire and smoke

Students or researchers? UT doctoral candidates fall into a category of their own. In ‘PhD stories’, UToday puts their work in the spotlight. This episode gives the stage to Benjamin van Manen, who is developing 3D mapping technology that helps firefighters navigate through burning buildings.

‘The biggest fear among firefighters is not burning to death. It is dying due to smoke inhalation because they couldn’t find the exit in time,’ says Benjamin van Manen. Due to extremely low visibility caused by smoke, the doctoral candidate explains, firefighters often must enter a burning building ‘blindly’, risking injury or death. ‘Which is why the goal of my PhD is to increase situational awareness for firefighters,’ says Van Manen. In direct collaboration with Dutch fire departments, he aims to develop a 3D mapping system for indoor environments filled with fire and smoke.

‘The biggest fear among firefighters is not burning to death. It is dying due to smoke inhalation because they couldn’t find the exit in time,’ says Benjamin van Manen. Due to extremely low visibility caused by smoke, the doctoral candidate explains, firefighters often must enter a burning building ‘blindly’, risking injury or death.

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