first RESponder-Centered support toolkit for operating in adverse and infrastrUcture-less EnviRonments

Project Information

RESCUER

Grant agreement ID: 101021836

DOI

10.3030/101021836

Project closed

EC signature date 27 April 2021

Start date 1 July 2021

End date 30 June 2024

Funded under

• Secure societies - Protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens

Total cost

€ 6 984 803,75

EU contribution

€ 6 984 803,75

Coordinated by

UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRID
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - RESCUER (first RESponder-Centered support toolkit for operating in adverse and infrastrUcture-less EnviRonments)

Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2024-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

RESCUER introduces the concept of the enHanced nEw eRa first respOnder (HERO): the First Responder (FR) that is augmented with edge-based technology to boost their capacity when operating in adverse conditions. The goal is to offer a modern, technologically advanced toolkit to FRs that allows to reduce the FRs’ health and safety risks while enabling a disaster response in a timely and effective manner. RESCUER is the first research project focused on infrastructure-less (power-constrained and absence of reliable communication infrastructure) and adverse conditions (darkness, smoke, heavy rain, fog, low temperatures, etc.).
RESCUER is developing a technology-based toolkit to demonstrate the concept of the HERO based on four pillars: (1) sense augmentation that allows to enhance the capabilities of FRs to sense the environment under adverse conditions; (2) precise self-positioning of FRs in both indoor and outdoor environments, fusing information from visual, inertial and Global Navigation Satellite System information sources; (3) cognitive support, improving their focus and capability to utilise the extra information by presenting it on multisense Augmented Reality interfaces in a way balances efficiency and safety, considering context, role, and euro-psychology; and (4) robust ad-hoc intra-team communications for both verbal and data exchanges, independent from established telecommunications infrastructures, which may be absent or damaged.
FRs experience extreme occupational health and safety risks: our society needs to arm FRs with the necessary tools ensuring their own safety and the one those are protecting by increasing the operational efficacy.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The overall progress of the project with reference to the first reporting period is described below:
- Elicitation of the user requirement definition of use cases, containing the methodology adopted to proceed to the functional analysis of the project.
- Formulation of system requirements and definition of architecture of the whole RESCUER system ensuring that the user requirements are included in the services offered by the RESCUER system.
- Research and development of different technical tools that comprise the RESCUER system.
- Integration of tools with the defined architecture guarantying the proper functioning of the tools and the correct integration with the other components of the RESCUER system.
- First working version of the RESCUER toolkit, composed by 18 tools or distinct components of tools already created.
- Testing and evaluation of the RESCUER tools and training of end-users in 3 local field trials, 1 general field trial / integration event, and 1 pilot.
- Preparation of questionnaires for the pilots and the training sessions to collect the evaluation of FR of the RESCUER toolkit in the sessions.
- Production of the promotional and marketing materials for the project, and creation of the RESCUER website, social media platforms, a Flipboard magazine, three newsletters and the official RESCUER Comic.
- The project introduced the RESCUER Heroes, Bellatrix and Theseus that will be involved in several adventures living the life of FRs, highlighting the use of our tools, published in a series of comic strips.
- Screening of RESCUER Key Exploitable Result and definition of their preliminary exploitation strategies were presented at the Horizon Results Booster Seminar Booster.
- Moreover, one journal paper, eight conference papers, three of them with a peer-review process, were produced, and the RESCUER project was already present at several international scientific events obtaining a good level of networking and communication activities.
- RESCUER has set up its own repository at Zenodo to comply with the Open Access requirements from the European Commission, where publications, public deliverables, brand assets, press releases and other resources should be widely accessible.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

There are some fields in which the RESCUER project will progress beyond the state of the art, that can be grouped in:
- In emergency communications by orchestrating the timing of the sharing of data in a manner that is both decentralised and able to maximise energy efficiency at the same time as considering the mission priorities fed to it by the cognitive load and information prioritisation components. RESCUER will be able to more efficiently use the limited battery resources that can be carried by the FRs, thus increasing the time that the network can be operational and allowing more energy to be used by the other onboard technologies.
- In ad-hoc communications suitable for emergencies by the use and development of existing technological solutions to be used in harsh and complex environments extending the network coverage and lifetime. Although off-the-shelf communication modules with standard protocols are used for many purposes, mainly to provide ICT infra-structured support, they have not been used commonly for ad-hoc communications with self-organized structure, particularly under the frame of the RESCUER's use cases. Thus, a communications service like the one proposed will ensure a quick deployment in the field without major concerns.
- In event recorder, by the use of the Emergency Building Black Box (EBBB) to assist in operational FRs’ activities in the event of an incident being able to provide useful information to the FRs and get a comprehensive view of the conditions existing in the structure. There are two areas of development: 1) information regarding the building and the existing conditions (prior or even after an incident) will be i) uploaded (as regards as building maps and critical information documentation, by the building management) ii) collected over linked sensors (provided through real time measurements, which will be stored in order to reflect the latest readings) and 2), a secure reliable way to collect and transmit the available information i) as regards the collection of information from connected sensors, the use of building automation protocols featuring resilient transport of data and auto reconfiguration (auto-healing) network capabilities, ii) as regards the communication with FRs, a secure reliable way will be provided in order to be used in case of disaster.
RESCUER aims at a clear and direct impact on the single person that is a FR operating in the field and will have positive societal impacts. By enhancing FR capabilities, the resulting reduction of risks to life and property will make a direct contribution towards safeguarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of EU citizens. By providing tangible improvements against health and safety risks, the RESCUER technologies also make the profession of FR a much more attractive proposition as a career choice. This will help to combat the spread of panic in disaster situations. By providing FRs with tools that were previously practical only in films, RESCUER will help cast them into the real-life equivalent of superheroes, averting disaster and saving lives partially helped by leveraging technologies in an effective manner. Boosting FR image will further increase the public's trust towards FR agencies. The resulting wider acceptance of new technologies will help pave the way for their application and use in diverse fields beyond crisis response, encourage European industry to invest in them, and ultimately align with the goals of the Digital Single Market.

First Pilot of RESCUER

HERO toolkit concept