Do First Responders Find Active911 Useful?

Mobile technology continues to advance, as does the field of emergency management. Today, emergency management personnel utilize the latest technology in all phases of emergency management, which include mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. This proposed study particularly identifies mobile technology in the response phase of emergency management pertaining to first responders. Specific technologies on the rise in the field of emergency management include mobile applications. Applications such as Active911 were developed in detail for first responders. It was found that not all first responders take advantage of existing technology and the reasons vary. This mixed methods study was created to be a follow-up study based on previous work completed involving Active911’s implementation in the Russellville Fire Department, Arkansas. The survey questions were designed to answer the central research question: Do first responders find Active911 useful? Participants’ responses were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative analysis to determine the trends in each of their responses

THE INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) IN DISASTER RESPONSE

Disaster management is a complex practice that relies on access to and the usability of critical information to develop strategies for effective decision-making. The emergence of wearable internet of things (IoT) technology has attracted the interests of several major industries, making it one of the fastest-growing technologies to date. This thesis asks, How can disaster management incorporate wearable IoT technology in operations and decision-making practices in disaster response? How IoT is applied in other prominent industries, including construction, manufacturing and distribution, the Department of Defense, and public safety, provides a basis for furthering its application to challenges affecting agency coordination. The critical needs of disaster intelligence in the context of hurricanes, structural collapses, and wildfires are scrutinized to identify gaps that wearable technology could address in terms of information-sharing in multi-agency coordination and the decision-making practices that routinely occur in disaster response. Last, the specifics of wearable technology from the perspective of the private consumer and commercial industry illustrate its potential to improve disaster response but also acknowledge certain limitations including technical capabilities and information privacy and security.Civilian, Virginia Beach Fire Department / FEMA - USAR VATF-2Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

INDEPENDENT HEROES: Supporting Type 1 Diabetic Young Adults’ Transition to Independent Living

This Master of Design Thesis project focuses on the condition of severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) in young adults living with type 1 diabetes by carefully understanding the unique challenges they face in transitioning to adult care. This research surfaces the needs that often get blurred in the transition process and offers a design for an appropriate solution to support the identified issues. Canadian young adults living with type 1 diabetes often find themselves at the risk of hypoglycemia during emerging adulthood. The concept of emerging adulthood has not been considered extensively in managing chronic illness and transition from pediatric to adult care. Yet, this is a critical time when a person may first assume full responsibility for their diabetes self-care while simultaneously facing all the usual challenges young adults face. Additionally, the fear of hypoglycemia is strongest in this group. A review of the literature informs us about previous work done in this field. However, most current interventions are in the form of bulky printed materials. Another critical issue with the development of most recent tools is the absence of user involvement in the creative process leading to unmet user needs. In this project, participatory design methodologies were introduced in a human-centered approach, collaborating with young adults to understand and address the transition process gap. It included actively listening to user narratives and co-creating the solution. The synthesis of primary and secondary research resulted in the designed outcome of a smart wearable device that will work in conjunction with the Continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and alerts the bystander and emergency contacts by turning them into potential lifesavers. It will inform them of a diabetic emergency and guide them through the life-saving instructions. Additionally, it will alert the medical emergency services for prompt assistance if needed. The solution attempts to provide early intervention during emergency and could also alleviate the fear of hypoglycemia in young adults. This in turn will reduce the load on the already burdened healthcare system

A novel first responders location tracking system: Architecture and functional requirements

The aim of the SAFESENS (Sensor Technologies for Enhanced Safety and Security of Buildings and its Occupants) project is to obtain earlier and more reliable fire detection, along with accurate occupancy detection and first responders' health condition and indoor location monitoring. In this paper, an analysis of the requirements requested by the tracking system is shown, together with an overview of the exploitable technologies and the current state-of-the-art. A novel system architecture, mainly based on UWB, inertial sensors, barometer and Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE), is proposed also showing some preliminary results regarding the chosen technologies. The final system will be shown in several real-case applications on successful completion of the project

Forests

In this paper, we provide an overview of positioning systems for moving resources in forest and fire management and review the related literature. Emphasis is placed on the accuracy and range of different localization and location-sharing methods, particularly in forested environments and in the absence of conventional cellular or internet connectivity. We then conduct a second review of literature and concepts related to several emerging, broad themes in data science, including the terms |, |, |, |, |, |, and |. Our objective in this second review is to inform how these broader concepts, with implications for networking and analytics, may help to advance natural resource management and science in the future. Based on methods, themes, and concepts that arose in our systematic reviews, we then augmented the paper with additional literature from wildlife and fisheries management, as well as concepts from video object detection, relative positioning, and inventory-tracking that are also used as forms of localization. Based on our reviews of positioning technologies and emerging data science themes, we present a hierarchical model for collecting and sharing data in forest and fire management, and more broadly in the field of natural resources. The model reflects tradeoffs in range and bandwidth when recording, processing, and communicating large quantities of data in time and space to support resource management, science, and public safety in remote areas. In the hierarchical approach, wearable devices and other sensors typically transmit data at short distances using Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), or ANT wireless, and smartphones and tablets serve as intermediate data collection and processing hubs for information that can be subsequently transmitted using radio networking systems or satellite communication. Data with greater spatial and temporal complexity is typically processed incrementally at lower tiers, then fused and summarized at higher levels of incident command or resource management. Lastly, we outline several priority areas for future research to advance big data analytics in natural resources.U01 OH010841/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/U54 OH007544/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States

A Technology review of smart sensors with wireless networks for applications in hazardous work environments

Workers in hazardous environments such as mining are constantly exposed to the health and safety hazards of dynamic and unpredictable conditions. One approach to enable them to manage these hazards is to provide them with situational awareness: real-time data (environmental, physiological, and physical location data) obtained from wireless, wearable, smart sensor technologies deployed at the work area. The scope of this approach is limited to managing the hazards of the immediate work area for prevention purposes; it does not include technologies needed after a disaster. Three critical technologies emerge and converge to support this technical approach: smart-wearable sensors, wireless sensor networks, and low-power embedded computing. The major focus of this report is on smart sensors and wireless sensor networks. Wireless networks form the infrastructure to support the realization of situational awareness; therefore, there is a significant focus on wireless networks. Lastly, the "Future Research" section pulls together the three critical technologies by proposing applications that are relevant to mining. The applications are injured miner (person-down) detection; a wireless, wearable remote viewer; and an ultrawide band smart environment that enables localization and tracking of humans and resources. The smart environment could provide location data, physiological data, and communications (video, photos, graphical images, audio, and text messages)

Connected healthcare: Improving patient care using digital health technologies

Now more than ever, traditional healthcare models are being overhauled with digital technologies of Healthcare 4.0 being increasingly adopted. Worldwide, digital devices are improving every stage of the patient care pathway. For one, sensors are being used to monitor patient metrics 24/7, permitting swift diagnosis and interventions. At the treatment stage, 3D printers are currently being investigated for the concept of personalised medicine by allowing patients access to on-demand, customisable therapeutics. Robots are also being explored for treatment, by empowering precision surgery or targeted drug delivery. Within medical logistics, drones are being leveraged to deliver critical treatments to remote areas, collect samples, and even provide emergency aid. To enable seamless integration within healthcare, the Internet of Things technology is being exploited to form closed-loop systems that remotely communicate with one another. This review outlines the most promising healthcare technologies and devices, their strengths, drawbacks, and scopes for clinical adoption

MULTI-SENSOR LOCALIZATION AND TRACKING IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND INDOOR WAYFINDING FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED USERS

This dissertation proposes a series of multi-sensor localization and tracking algorithms particularly developed for two important application domains, which are disaster management and indoor wayfinding for blind and visually impaired (BVI) users. For disaster management, we developed two different localization algorithms, one each for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, which enable the disaster management system to track patients in real-time. Both algorithms work in the absence of any pre-deployed infrastructure along with smartphones and wearable devices. Regarding indoor wayfinding for BVI users, we have explored several types of indoor positioning techniques including BLE-based, inertial, visual and hybrid approaches to offer accurate and reliable location and orientation in complex navigation spaces. In this dissertation, significant contributions have been made in the design and implementation of various localization and tracking algorithms under different requirements of certain applications

TURF: solução de baixo custo para localização de bombeiros em incêndios urbanos

Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e TelecomunicaçõesWhen in critical emergency scenarios, first responders are submitted to highly stressful and risky situations. In order to help them dealing with these conditions, the VitalResponder project started and is now capable of continuously monitor the vital signs of firemen with wearable technologies. This provides to the chief of operations the capability to evaluate the health conditions of his firefighters and react according to their needs. The localization of firemen is an important factor when dealing with urban fires. Due to low visibility and difficult communication conditions, is essential for each fireman to be aware of his colleagues’ whereabouts for organization and, in case of need, rescue matters. The idea behind this dissertation is to build a simple and low cost tracking system, embedded in the VitalResponder wearable technology, which can give information about the presence of a fireman or a wall and its distance. The simplest answer found to this problem was sensor fusion using an infrared sensor, to distinguish a wall from a fireman, and an ultrasound sensor, to provide the distance to the obstacle/colleague.Em cenários críticos de emergência, as equipas de resposta são submetidas a situações de stress e risco extremamente elevados. Para os ajudar a reagir, deu-se início ao projeto VitalResponder que é atualmente capaz de monitorizar continuamente os sinais vitais dos bombeiros devido à tecnologia embutida nos seus fatos. Este sistema fornece ao comandante de operações a capacidade de avaliar as condições de saúde dos seus bombeiros e agir de acordo com as suas necessidades. A localização de bombeiros é um fator muito importante em situações de incêndios urbanos. Devido às fracas condições de visibilidade e comunicação, é essencial que cada bombeiro tenha noção da posição dos seus colegas por questões de organização e salvamento. O objetivo desta dissertação é construir um sistema simples e de baixo custo, que será incorporado no projeto VitalResponder, e fornecerá informações acerca da presença de um bombeiro ou uma parede e a sua respetiva distância. A solução mais simples para este problema é utilizar fusão sensorial de um sensor infravermelho, para distinguir uma parede de um bombeiro, e um sensor de ultrassom, para medir a distância ao obstáculo/colega