It is with great pleasure that INGENIOUS participated in the CERIS Disaster Resilient Societies (DRS) Cluster Conference, which was organised on 23-25 March 2022 in Brussels (BAO Congress Centre) in a hybrid format mixing virtual attendance with limited physical participation. On the 25th INGENIOUS co-chaired the “Technologies for First Responders” Session of the Conference along with the sister projects FASTER, CURSOR and INTREPID.
The INGENIOUS project team conducts a survey to identify the level of satisfaction that early adopters and stakeholders have from the INGENIOUS offered solution, the INGENIOUS Next Generation Integrated Toolkit (NGIT).
EXUS AI Labs within the INGENIOUS project is working on implementing an alert system that will inform about the health status of first responders (FR). This system monitors the vitals of the FR and when a potential risk is identified (from their physiological data), alerts are raised to inform operators to take preventive action. Several approaches have been considered and at this stage machine learning algorithms are being utilised for the task.
Rescue operations in both small-scale emergencies and major natural or man-made disasters are undoubtedly more dangerous than in the past and the needs of First Responder teams have increased. The INGENIOUS project, funded by the European Union and the Republic of Korea under the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program, aims to assist First Responders to be more effective and save more lives during natural and manmade disasters and crises by exploiting novel technologies.
Developing emergency response technologies for detecting and managing waterborne pathogen contamination events
During emergency response operations, first responders are at risk of being exposed to dangerous pathogens (such as norovirus, e. coli and v. cholerae) through skin contact, ingestion or inhalation. These pathogens pose a significant risk of illness, disease or even death. Currently, there are very few available field-validated technologies to assist first responders when having to operate within an environment with such dangerous pathogens.
Both man-made and natural disasters such as earthquakes and terrorist attacks can result in people being trapped under debris and collapsed structures. In these critical situations, a timely and effective response is crucial and can prevent or significantly reduce the number of casualties. This is why First responders and rescue teams need to be equipped with cutting edge tools and specialised instrumentations in order to enhance their capabilities, namely in terms of accuracy, quick localization, and reduction of false alarms.
INGENIOUS will participate in the “CERIS – DRS- Discussion on Technologies for First Responders for Disaster Risk” which will take place on the 24th of February 2021 from 10h to 12h CET.
