Our solution addresses Capability Gaps 2 and 9 by delivering a real-time modelling, analysis, and decision-support platform for explosion threats in complex urban environments. Designed to enhance first responder safety and decision-making, the proposed system uses an innovative (patented), fast, meshless model to simulate the propagation of blast waves, accounting for reflections, diffractions, urban canyons, and canopy bypass effects. It enables immediate threat assessment as soon as the charge is positioned on the scene. The developed tool uses configurable input parameters (e.g., charge characteristics, urban geometry, …) to simulate pressure and impulse fields in real time. The graphical interface presents evolving hazard zones and their proximity to responders in a clear and intuitive way, supporting fast decisions while minimizing cognitive load.
TRL: 8 – The system has been tested and validated using real-world urban layouts and representative incident scenarios.
<1 year in use. The implemented model introduces a highly innovative, differentiated approach by bridging the gap between oversimplified blast calculators and heavy 3D simulations. It is the first real-time, field-ready platform offering predictive modelling and decision support for blast threats in urban areas, while being cost-efficient, easy to deploy, maintain, and scale.
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The objective of our proposal is to deliver a fast, operational, and accurate simulation platform that supports real-time threat analysis and actionable decision-making for first responders in urban explosion scenarios. Current tools rely either on simplified empirical models (typically circular zones derived from simplified formulas, which are not conservative and may underestimate hazards) or on three-dimensional numerical simulation tools (CFD, FEM), that are too slow and complex for real-time use. Our solution aims to fill this gap with a fast, meshless model that runs in real time while capturing critical urban effects such as multiple reflections, diffractions, urban canyon channels, and canopy bypass.
The ambition is to empower civil protection units and emergency services with predictive tools that are easy to deploy, interpret, and operate in the field. Our solution offers dynamic consequence mapping, geolocated hazard zones, and visual support for decision-making, all designed to minimize cognitive overload during high-stress operations. Focusing on ease of use, the developed tool is based on a geospatial representation of buildings, compatible with commonly available data (OpenStreetMap, SwissTopo, BD TOPO, ArcGIS …). It provides a new level of situational awareness and is designed to be easily deployable, interpretable, and robust across diverse urban environments.
The proposed system contributes to European goals of improved civil protection and disaster resilience. Its relevance extends to explosive risk planning, emergency drills, and real-time crisis management. The system's configurability allows it to be adapted to new threats or urban layouts with minimal effort.
This innovation empowers responders with accurate, real-time risk maps that improve safety, operational efficiency, and response time bridging the gap between academic modelling and field-ready decision support.
The URBEX fast-running code, developed under the URB(EX)3 research project co-funded by the French National Research Agency, represents a paradigm shift in urban blast modelling. It is a validated, meshless model specifically designed for blast wave propagation in urban environments. It accounts for critical urban effects such as diffractions, regular and Mach reflections, wave channelling, and canopy bypassing—without relying on explicit volumetric solvers. The algorithm enables rapid, exhaustive exploration of complex environments, generating overpressure maps in less than a minute on a standard laptop.
The model describes a tree of unitary waves, where the first level corresponds to the initial "free-field" wave, and the next level includes the unitary waves resulting from the reflections and diffractions of the waves from the previous levels. Higher resolution levels lead to more accurate results. This mathematical approach, which constitutes a breakthrough compared to the international state of the art, is described in patent FR3158819, already published in August 2025, and has been presented at the 17th International Conference on Structures Under Shock and Impact (SUSI 2025) and the 27th International Symposium on Military Aspects of Blast and Shock (MABS 27).
This modelling capability supports fast, reliable estimation of explosion consequences in urban areas, significantly improving operational decision-making. Our solution increases risk zone accuracy, reduces false alarms, speeds up intervention planning, and enhances responder safety.
The platform uses a geospatial building representation compatible with public data (e.g., OpenStreetMap, …) and generates impact maps (overpressure, lethality, eardrum rupture, glass breakage, …). Its intuitive interface allows users to define the explosion, adjust parameters, and instantly visualize the results, switching between various consequence models with ease.
The developed platform addresses a critical operational need: the lack of fast, accurate, and field-ready tools for assessing the consequences of urban explosions. Currently, responders and planners are constrained to select between simplified empirical models, which typically represent hazard areas as circular zones derived from approximate formulas, and comprehensive 3D numerical simulations that demand significant computational resources and time, making them impractical for rapid, operational decision-making. This creates a gap in the ability to rapidly understand and react to evolving threat environments.
The novel approach resolves this by providing a fast, meshless model capable of simulating complex blast wave propagation effects—such as reflections, diffractions, channelling, and canopy bypassing—within seconds, even on a standard laptop. This allows responders to generate consequence maps (e.g., overpressure, lethality, eardrum rupture, glass breakage,…) almost instantaneously after inputting the location and charge characteristics. The result is a significant improvement in real-time situational awareness, operational agility, and responder safety.
The platform enhances mission effectiveness by reducing false alarms, optimizing deployment zones, and enabling pre- and post-event planning. It can be used during emergencies for live assessment, or beforehand for contingency planning and training.
Designed to be robust, cost-efficient, and easy to maintain, our solution integrates seamlessly with widely available geospatial data, operates through an intuitive graphical interface tailored for non-expert users. It enables fast decisions with minimal cognitive burden, making it highly operational across various response contexts from military and civil protection to emergency management and urban security planning. It empowers teams with clear, contextualized intelligence drawn from multiple data sources supporting faster, smarter, and safer interventions.
Our team brings together complementary expertise in science, spatial modelling, scientific development and 3D data visualization. With backgrounds in chemistry, engineering, GIS, and applied mathematics, we create innovative and user-centred digital tools. Balanced and multidisciplinary, we tackle complex technical and societal challenges with rigor, creativity, and a strong commitment to open data, designing solutions tailored to risk prevention and crisis management.
Our team brings together complementary expertise in science, spatial modelling, scientific development and 3D data visualization. With backgrounds in chemistry, engineering, GIS, and applied mathematics, we create innovative and user-centred digital tools. Balanced and multidisciplinary, we tackle complex technical and societal challenges with rigor, creativity, and a strong commitment to open data, designing solutions tailored to risk prevention and crisis management.