Improving last-kilometer navigation & transportation of emergency personnel, equipment and relief items in hazardous and challenging environments

Projektinformationen

ForeSight

ID Finanzhilfevereinbarung: 101168521

DOI

10.3030/101168521

EK-Unterschriftsdatum 19 Juli 2024

Startdatum 1 Oktober 2024

Enddatum 30 September 2027

Finanziert unter

• Civil Security for Society

Gesamtkosten

€ 3 499 923,75

EU-Beitrag

€ 3 499 923,75

Koordiniert durch

BUNDESANSTALT TECHNISCHES HILFSWERK
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ForeSight (Improving last-kilometer navigation & transportation of emergency personnel, equipment and relief items in hazardous and challenging environments)

Berichtszeitraum: 2024-10-01 bis 2026-03-31

Zusammenfassung vom Kontext und den Gesamtzielen des Projekts

Recent wildfires in Southern Europe highlight the need to effectively reach remote and cut-off locations with last-kilometer logistics. Yet, in urban and wildfires, after explosions and heavy precipitation, the performance of first responders (FR) is dramatically affected by low-, or even zero-, visibility conditions. Navigating and mapping in low-, or even zero-, visibility conditions combined with increased situational awareness that allows efficient delivery of response and relief equipment is currently an inexistent capability when responders fight against flames. ForeSight revolutionizes the capacity of FRs to this end by delivering a) a new paradigm of intuitive navigation and mapping in such conditions by retrofitting novel LiDARs and associated data fusion en-hancements, illuminators and beacons into FR helmets/uniform and vehicles tightly coupled with Heads-Up-Display and AR capabilities b) a next generation of tactical reconnaissance and last-kilometer logistics related to heavy equipment and emergency relief items delivery via the development of tailor-made heavy-lifter drones (>40kg and >100kg capacity) tightly coupled into a novel command, control, coordination & intelligence (C3I) Platform maximizing sense and decision making with its advanced 2D & 3D data acquisition, representation and mapping.

Arbeit, die ab Beginn des Projekts bis zum Ende des durch den Bericht erfassten Berichtszeitraums geleistet wurde, und die wichtigsten bis dahin erzielten Ergebnisse

Over the course of three years, 4 emergency response organisations will join forces with 10 technical, legal / ethical and communications partners. In addition, they will be advised by an international board of experts. Initially, the consortium defines the user requirements and technical specifications. Next, research and development activities will be iterated with two component field tests (CFTs) and two large-scale system field tests (SFTs) to ensure applicability to first responders' operations in the field. Finally, the technological solutions will be presented to international first responders, policy-makers and researchers during an international demonstration in August 2027.

Fortschritte, die über den aktuellen Stand der Technik hinausgehen und voraussichtliche potenzielle Auswirkungen (einschließlich der bis dato erzielten sozioökonomischen Auswirkungen und weiter gefassten gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen des Projekts)

ForeSight will provide unique, innovative, and significant contributions to the challenges that firrst responders face in last-kilometer logistics missions whilst also providing support and insights for sound decision making in policy required by the EU Civil Security for Society work programme.

Results beyond the state of the art:
- Long Wave InfraRed (LWIR) LiDAR in the ~9_m spectral region using emerging Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCL) technology
- Flash LiDAR imaging device in the visible range for faster acquisition of 3D mapping data
- Increased performance SWIR coherent LiDAR via optical phase-locked loop (OPLL)
- Enhanced navigation by employing advanced data fusion and feature extraction from LiDAR sensors
- Laser-based high-power LWIR illuminator and imaging sensor, to see through fire, smoke, fog and dust
- Ultra-high power ΜWIR beacons using QCL arrays to localize team members and share their status information
- FR apparel and vehicles with retrofitted ForeSight components
- Combination of tailor-made heavy-lift cargo drones for tactical reconnaissance & last-kilometer logistics
- Command, Control, Coordination & Actionable Intelligence (C3I) and Incident Management System (IMS) with decision support

Impact:
Scientific: New breakthrough tools towards Emergency Response and Enhanced Situational Awareness
Economic: New market opportunities and tools for sustainable activities, significantly enhancing the European leadership in digital technologies and in future emerging technologies crisis management
Economic/Technological: Boosting EU competitiveness in smart civil protection and security and advancing the state of the art in the domain
Societal: Enhancing resilience and decreasing societal vulnerability against natural and manmade complex incidents