A novel testing, training and experimentation programme of 27 Laboratory Integration and Testing sessions (LITs), 18 Small Scale Field Tests (SSTs) and 2 Full Scale Field Validation Exercises (FSXs) will be realised within the lifecycle of the project. Technical partners and end users will follow closely the laboratory testing activities, realise field tests of the initial versions of functional prototypes towards benchmarking and ultimately operate the Toolkit as a whole in two large field validation activities to be held in M34 and M41 of the project.

The component testing and individual INGENIOUS platforms testing and integration in the laboratory of the techno-providers partners have already started. The first Laboratory and Integration Testing activity is taking place at the premises of our partners from ISAR, in Germany, and concerns the K9 Vest which is being developed by ICCS. The Specially-trained dog teams are regarded as intelligent assets for the FRs deploying to disaster scenes and in urban search and rescue missions because of their keen sense of smell, speed, and ability to maneuver in tight spots searching for victims. The technologically advanced Vest is being designed to protect the companions of the FRs in their difficult missions by monitoring their vitals whilst allowing the FRs having better control of the dog by commanding it remotely and out of the line of sight. Resilient links and stable cameras are embedded to the K9 Vest allowing the dogs to directly communicate with FRs when a victim is detected and to increase the situational awareness.

The second Laboratory and Integration Testing activity was focused on the Field Communication, MAX, Swarm of MINs, Deployable IPS & Large-scale mapping tools of INGENIOUS. Each tool’s tests took place at the premises of the technical partners who are responsible for their development (ICCS, FOI, SINTEF, and DLR accordingly). The self-exploring, automated UAVs for indoor and outdoor operations as well as the fundamental localisation and communication means utilised within and around the worksite will be operated by the First Responders and will be developed and prototyped to protect them in the disaster scene and enhance their operational tasks. 

The next Laboratory and Integration Testing activity was focused on the Face Recognition App. A versatile end-to-end face recognition system will be developed during the project’s lifetime based on cutting-edge deep learning technologies. ICCS is the responsible technical partner for the development of the system, which will be robust against detrimental effects that are likely to appear in the INGENIOUS operational conditions. The Face Recognition App functionalities up to this moment were demonstrated to the rest of the partners during the test. The Triage and Patients Tracking App for assisting first responders conducting triage and pre-hospitalisation support was also demonstrated. Partners have contributed to the further development of the Apps with their views and experience.

The Social Media App, a novel mobile app for the collection of data from social media and online content to assist first responders by notifying them about nearby critical situations that have been reported will be developed by partner CERTH. The relevant Laboratory and Integration Test was conducted virtually and CERTH presented the functionalities of the app. Social media sources (e.g. Twitter) will be monitored, in line with the end user requirements and the ethics requirements. A dynamic list of keywords, locations and user accounts will be created for the collection of social media posts. Appropriate localisation methods will be developed in conjunction with keyword-based searching for social media crawlers. A process of automated quality control will be used to filter out non-relevant information and fake news.

The next Laboratory and Integration Test was focused on the Fusion Engine and Expert Reasoning module. The test was conducted virtually and the partners which are responsible for the development of those tools, EXUS and CERTH, explained more on the functionalities and the technical advances achieved.

The Laboratory and Integration Tests of the Helmet and the Augmented Reality Services, the Uniform, the Boots, the Worksite App, the COP Platform & C3 and the Multilanguage Operations App will follow in the coming weeks. All the above are essential components, which will armour the first responders in order to conduct their response duties safely and effectively.

Find out more information about the project’s roadmap here: https://ingenious-first-responders.eu/roadmap/

If you wish to learn more about the INGENIOUS technological tools and services visit: https://ingenious-first-responders.eu/ingenious-project/