Situational Awareness Tool for Emergency Operators in the Field
Source abstract
Abstract
This paper presents a mobile application designed to support emergency operators during indoor missions, where Global Positioning System (GPS) often fails. The system combines a wearable waist-mounted Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) with a network of pre-installed Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, enabling robust, real-time geo-referenced tracking of both personnel and critical Points of Interest (PoIs), such as resources and threats. Development was guided by interviews and surveys with emergency professionals, ensuring the tool addresses real operational needs. Key features include dynamic updates of operator positions and nearby hazards, enabled by an Indoor Positioning System (IPS) that fuses IMU and RFID data to improve accuracy in position and heading estimation. The application also offers a user-friendly Human–Environment Interface (HEI) displaying information on a spatially referenced map. By merging advanced technology with expert feedback, this system enhances safety and coordination in critical scenarios, offering a promising solution for indoor navigation and Situational Awareness (SA) in emergency response.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Human-Automation Interaction and Safety · Risk and Safety Analysis · Maritime Navigation and Safety
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Unit of Automatic Control, Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Álvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Rome, Italy
Department of Engineering, Università Roma Tre, Via della Vasca Navale 79, 00146 Rome, Italy
Unit of Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Álvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Rome, Italy
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