Periodic Reporting for period 2 - INGENIOUS (The First Responder (FR) of the Future: a Next Generation Integrated Toolkit (NGIT) for Collaborative Response, increasing protection and augmenting operational capacity)
Reporting period: 2021-01-01 to 2023-02-28
In order to achieve INGENIOUS goals, INGENIOUS partners identified and set a number of Objectives at the Strategic, Technology and Policy level, presented below.
Strategic Objectives: To increase EU resilience against natural and man-made attacks by augmenting response capabilities in all types of disasters (multi-hazard approach). To ensure the well-being of response teams, at the EU-level (and beyond), and increase their operational capacity. To deliver a Next Generation Integrated Toolkit (NGIT) for Collaborative Response extensively validated by EU and International practitioners and technology providers in the field.
Technological and Scientific Objectives: To develop a set of wearable technologies & miniaturised sensors which protect and empower FRs, and their K9 companions, during response operations. To develop a set of ancillary devices and platforms, rapidly and autonomously deployed in the field, which gather information, enhance awareness, localise FRs and their assets, and optimise communication between teams and victims. To fuse all available information under an integrated framework, and develop an advanced C3 (Command, Control & Coordination) providing the Common Operating Picture (COP) to all types of response units, advancing coordination and cross-team collaboration. To convey the COP to the FR, by exploiting recent advances in Augmented Reality, and developing a set of mobile Apps and that allow the FR units to better coordinate tactical and operational response.
Policy and Societal Objectives: To increase public safety by greatly improving the capabilities of EU response units. To allow cross-domain and cross-country response team collaboration, overcoming language and policy barriers through technology.
Strategic Objectives: To increase EU resilience against natural and man-made attacks by augmenting response capabilities in all types of disasters (multi-hazard approach). To ensure the well-being of response teams, at the EU-level (and beyond), and increase their operational capacity. To deliver a Next Generation Integrated Toolkit (NGIT) for Collaborative Response extensively validated by EU and International practitioners and technology providers in the field.
Technological and Scientific Objectives: To develop a set of wearable technologies & miniaturised sensors which protect and empower FRs, and their K9 companions, during response operations. To develop a set of ancillary devices and platforms, rapidly and autonomously deployed in the field, which gather information, enhance awareness, localise FRs and their assets, and optimise communication between teams and victims. To fuse all available information under an integrated framework, and develop an advanced C3 (Command, Control & Coordination) providing the Common Operating Picture (COP) to all types of response units, advancing coordination and cross-team collaboration. To convey the COP to the FR, by exploiting recent advances in Augmented Reality, and developing a set of mobile Apps and that allow the FR units to better coordinate tactical and operational response.
Policy and Societal Objectives: To increase public safety by greatly improving the capabilities of EU response units. To allow cross-domain and cross-country response team collaboration, overcoming language and policy barriers through technology.
INGENIOUS aims at providing a cost-effective, modular and highly reliable Next Generation Integrated Toolkit for Collaborative Response, at the service of First Responders (FRs), by adopting a two-prong approach in the operations and technology domain.
Operations: NGIT is directly utilised during response activities and upgrades protection and operational capabilities of the FRs whilst enabling collaboration and coordination among team members, agencies and between victims and infrastructure owners. NGIT supports and improves the following response activities: 1) Improving situational awareness by allowing local and remote detection, monitoring and analysis of passive and active threats; 2) Delivering resilient data and voice communications between teams and with victims; 3) Augmenting command, control and coordination over a novel C3 and Common Operational Picture platform 4) Preserving responders’ health and safety and boosting performance by upgrading their uniform and body gear; 5) Enhancing logistics and resource management by tracking and tracing FRs and their assets; 6) Improving casualty management by the use of novel applications for triaging and victim classification; 7) Upgrading Training and Exercises of the FR community.
Technology: NGIT armours the FRs with novel, affordable and reliable tools and services as part of their uniform and as part of their operational assets in an integrated manner, facilitating seamless and resilient interconnectivity and bosting awareness. More specifically, 1) the NGIT builds upon the concept of “smart” FRs by holistically equipping them to protect them and assist in conducting their response duties, empowering and enhancing their helmet, uniform, boots and accompanying K9 units with wearables, communication and localisation components, sensors and add-ons delivering augmented reality functions. 2) Moreover, the NGIT comprises of smart devices in the air and on the ground, that are essentially external response modules operated by FRs to monitor, map, analyse and assess the incident scene. 3) Ultimately, the NGIT supports FRs with multi-fusion and expert reasoning modules for improving situational awareness and threat and hazard detection, a C3 and a COP platform with augmented reality capabilities as add-ons for Command, Control and Coordination and with mobile applications to improve response activities.
INGENIOUS implements Integration testing and validation activities in a rich programme (led by FRs) and contains 27 Laboratory Integrated Tests (LITs), 18 Small Scale Tests (SSTs) and 2 Large Scale Exercises (FSXs) of the Toolkit’s integrated components. Main achievements of the project was related to the collection of user requirements, the definition of the use cases of the tests and exercises, the toolkit design as well as the development of the INGENIOUS NGIT consists of 18 tools. Finally, the project brand and communication strategy were defined while all the necessary steps to meet the ethical, legal and security requirements were taken. In total 46 video produced, 6 newsletters, and 24 Results, 24 blogs articles, 32 publications (conf. papers and journal publications), 41 event attendance and 24 results can be embodied in 12 possible products.
Operations: NGIT is directly utilised during response activities and upgrades protection and operational capabilities of the FRs whilst enabling collaboration and coordination among team members, agencies and between victims and infrastructure owners. NGIT supports and improves the following response activities: 1) Improving situational awareness by allowing local and remote detection, monitoring and analysis of passive and active threats; 2) Delivering resilient data and voice communications between teams and with victims; 3) Augmenting command, control and coordination over a novel C3 and Common Operational Picture platform 4) Preserving responders’ health and safety and boosting performance by upgrading their uniform and body gear; 5) Enhancing logistics and resource management by tracking and tracing FRs and their assets; 6) Improving casualty management by the use of novel applications for triaging and victim classification; 7) Upgrading Training and Exercises of the FR community.
Technology: NGIT armours the FRs with novel, affordable and reliable tools and services as part of their uniform and as part of their operational assets in an integrated manner, facilitating seamless and resilient interconnectivity and bosting awareness. More specifically, 1) the NGIT builds upon the concept of “smart” FRs by holistically equipping them to protect them and assist in conducting their response duties, empowering and enhancing their helmet, uniform, boots and accompanying K9 units with wearables, communication and localisation components, sensors and add-ons delivering augmented reality functions. 2) Moreover, the NGIT comprises of smart devices in the air and on the ground, that are essentially external response modules operated by FRs to monitor, map, analyse and assess the incident scene. 3) Ultimately, the NGIT supports FRs with multi-fusion and expert reasoning modules for improving situational awareness and threat and hazard detection, a C3 and a COP platform with augmented reality capabilities as add-ons for Command, Control and Coordination and with mobile applications to improve response activities.
INGENIOUS implements Integration testing and validation activities in a rich programme (led by FRs) and contains 27 Laboratory Integrated Tests (LITs), 18 Small Scale Tests (SSTs) and 2 Large Scale Exercises (FSXs) of the Toolkit’s integrated components. Main achievements of the project was related to the collection of user requirements, the definition of the use cases of the tests and exercises, the toolkit design as well as the development of the INGENIOUS NGIT consists of 18 tools. Finally, the project brand and communication strategy were defined while all the necessary steps to meet the ethical, legal and security requirements were taken. In total 46 video produced, 6 newsletters, and 24 Results, 24 blogs articles, 32 publications (conf. papers and journal publications), 41 event attendance and 24 results can be embodied in 12 possible products.
INGENIOUS aims at delivering impact regarding science, technology and innovation. Namely through the development of: 1. INGENIOUS “Smart” (FRs): This comprises the offering of INGENIOUS technologies & tools that FRs and K9 units are carrying on their person, including a) the INGENIOUS Helmet, b) the INGENIOUS Uniform & wearables, c) the Ingenious Boots, and d) the INGENIOUS K9 Units. The underlying concept of these components is to develop the “FR of the future”, empowered by a vast array of technological advances, be them sensors, communication tools, or information feed/visualisations to the FRs, through the integrated concept described herein. Furthermore, major advancements in terms of research and development will be in the area of the miniaturised integration platforms embedding sensors, the FP Interferometric photothermal CBRN sensor, towards air monitoring for toxic or other-wise potentially harmful substances, and the INGENIOUS Boots, which provide and added layer of safety through the monitoring of the actual condition of the FRs in real time. 2.INGENIOUS “Smart” Devices in the air and on the ground: A cornerstone in the INGENIOUS innovation effort, comprising: a) the Multi-purpose Autonomous eXploring drone (MAX), b) the Field communications and Local/Edge Processing, c) the Micro Indoor droNe (MIN), d) the deployable Positioning system (IPS / MACS-SaR). Key developments here regard the autonomous and swarming nature of operation of these assets (drone swarm, collision avoidance, etc.), as well as the accurate hybrid positioning and the advanced edge processing capabilities. 3. Augmenting the Operational Picture and FR Mobile Apps: employs the further development, beyond the state-of-the-art, of a Common Operational Picture Platform / C3 that has for long been serving in support of FRs operations. This tool will be further empowered major research and development in the domains of Augmented Reality and Expert reasoning through hybrid fusion techniques. In addition to the above, INGENIOUS will provide a number of novel mobile apps, which will act an information catering layer to the FRs.