technology in the service of humanity
During a rescue operation – the time is cruicial. Every second counts when human life is at stake.
Hence an advanced smartfirefighter‘s AR vision system can allow a vehicle to be automatically identified and promptly display critical vehicle informations to emergency responders right before their eyes, exactly when they need it.
The emergency services can use them to quickly access the vehicle data sheet and owner’s manual, and determine how to carry out the extrication. Too often, valuable time is lost in the process of rescuing crash victims entrapped in their vehicles, especially after severe road accidents.
This is due to the fact that increasingly safer car designs, new electric and hybrid vehicles on the road pose serious challenges for rescuers. Safety components, such as gas generators for curtain airbags, can be a safety risk for firefighters and emergency response teams. High voltage present in hybrid and electric cars – especially in a damaged ones with leaking fluids – is a serious danger. Even how to find and disconnect the battery in modern cars can be a problem for rescuers. Additionally, faced with high-strength steel and body reinforcements, even the most powerful cutters reach their limits.
Therefore, for rescue operations with vehicles, a standardized “Rescue Sheet” with information on the location of cabin reinforcements, tank, the battery, airbags, gas generators, control units etc. and indicating adequate cutting points should be used. (Rescue sheet – the ISO 17840 Firefighters´worldwide standard has been a product of the CTIF Commission for Extrication & New Technology, in cooperation with Euro NCAP, SIS and ISO.) Such rescue sheets are available on the Internet and in dedicated applications. The rescue sheet must be also placed behind the driver’s sun visor of each car (required in Europe and partially over the world).
Vehicle brand/model recognition technology, especially for damaged vehicles is nothing new on the market. There are plenty of free and paid AI solutions for this purpose on the market today. Similar systems using AI have been operating successfully for years in the car insurance industry (claims managenment), automatically recognizing the vehicle brand and model, analyzing damage and calculating forecasted repair costs.
The smartfirefighter system is merely introducting to use this technology in other areas, allowing for immediate vehicle recognition and displaying cruicial information, supporting the work of firefighters and emergency rescue workers.
Links:
https://www.acl.lu/en-us/tests-conseils/conseils/voitures/rescue-sheet
http://www.rescuesheet.info/index.html
https://www.ukfrs.com/sites/default/files/2017-09/Fire%20Service%20Operations%20-%20Incidents%20Involving%20Rescue%20from%20Road%20Vehicles.pdf