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When disaster strikes, emergency services are first on the scene. Dealing with crises often requires separate teams – firefighters, law enforcement and paramedics – to cooperate quickly and efficiently in order to save lives.
With climate change increasing the frequency and severity of natural disasters such as forest fires, and the threat of man-made disasters such as major traffic accidents ever-present, the need to support and protect these teams has never been greater.
From drones to heart monitors
The EU-funded ASSISTANCE project sought to provide greater protection for emergency services by boosting their situational awareness in any given disaster. To achieve this, the project team developed and tested various data-gathering devices, such as smart wearables, robots and drones.
The sensors they carried included thermal cameras, and gas detectors to provide real-time information on the toxicity of any given hot spot – and to help find potential victims. First responders were also equipped with GPS and vital signs tracking.
These empowered first responders working on disaster scenes. “A swarm of drones with integrated Wi-Fi access points was deployed to provide better network coverage in areas with poor signal,” explains ASSISTANCE project coordinator Federico Carvajal, from Valencia Polytechnic University in Spain.
In addition, prototype drones were developed to detect the presence of potentially hostile drones in the vicinity, which might be intent on damaging infrastructure or hampering rescue efforts. Such scenarios might arise in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.
Sensors were also used to support the detection of areas so damaged that emergency evacuation might not be possible, and to provide guidance on more secure evacuation routes.
Data from all these sensors – including real-time video, person and object location, identification of viable evacuation routes and ad-hoc network coverage – was then integrated into a centralised situational awareness platform. From here, critical details can be disseminated to different emergency services, providing them with detailed, targeted information about any given emergency situation.
The technology helps first responders coordinate their actions quickly and efficiently. “We wanted to take into account the different types of crises that each first response organisation is called to deal with,” adds Carvajal.
Boosting resilience of emergency workers
The project also sought to increase first responder capabilities, through training modules enhanced by virtual reality, mixed reality and augmented reality. “The aim here was to offer a set of training modules, tailored to first responder needs and based on real incidents,” says Carvajal. A virtual reality training network was set up and tested by first responder organisations.
Carvajal and his team are confident that the project’s situational awareness platform and virtual reality training network will have a significant impact on boosting the resilience of emergency services. “The platform was developed specifically to increase the protection and efficiency of first responders, and is based on real needs expressed by these end users,” he notes.
“Emergency teams can now work together more efficiently to mitigate crises, and in safer working conditions. In this way, citizens involved in any given crisis will be better assisted. Indeed, populations potentially affected by disasters – such as floods and forest fires – will be better protected, because first responders will be better prepared.”
Several of the technological innovations developed and trialled during ASSISTANCE are now being brought to market, says Carvajal: “First responder organisations are also currently in discussions over the possibility of securing Pre-Commercial Procurement agreements, and tailoring some of the project results to their specific needs.”
Prototypes constructed in the course of the project are also being further developed, and the project’s findings are being used to improve existing products and identify new possibilities.