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Firefighter Accountability Technology

Location of firefighters and rescue workers in GPS denied environments is a difficult problem. To solve this problem the CFSRD has been developing a personnel locating technology based on integrated positioning. Many similar research projects have fallen short during the past several years due in part to data transmission problems. This dilemma can be attributed to the fact that insufficient technical expertise has been dedicated to solving the problem through one integrated research effort. Our project brings together all the scientific expertise and partnerships needed to bring a timely real world, reliable resolution to this major fire service safety issue.

This effort has been made possible by funding from the Department of Homeland Security Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Program. During the first year of funding, the primary focus was on the development of technology to accurately determine the location of a firefighter in a complex structure. The technology developed has been packaged in an integrated tracking system, the Firefighter Sentinel System by TRX Systems. The system uses an innovative combination of inertial navigation and global positioning to track personnel.

During this second year of funding, we are developing and implementing new algorithms to enhance the ability of the system to track other types of motions characteristic of firefighters - climbing ladders, duck walking, crawling, etc. We are testing both the inertial tracking capability and data transmission capability in different structure types. The inertial test program involves measuring the accuracy of the INU under various complexities of motion from very basic to complex. Data transmission will be tested in buildings representing each of the five structure types. In addition, the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) technology is being enhanced. We are developing algorithms to translate the RSSI signal into actual distances between the firefighter and the base station. We are also developing the hardware for performing location-based data processing on RSSI for determining the short-range location of the members of a local group or pair of firefighters. This short-range location detection system is being developed around the low power Chipcon transceiver. We are also developing mathematical algorithms that translate the received power levels and power level variation rates into distances and locations. The variations in power in time are also being used to determine if there are barriers or walls between firefighters or between firefighters and the base station. Another important aspect of the signal processing is to perform signal averaging, which helps to eliminate the effects of noise and signal instability. As advances and improvements are made by the research team these will be integrated into the system for further field-testing. We are also working with the University of Maryland's Center for Advanced Lifecycle Engineering package the electronics to NFPA standards. The culmination of the effort will be beta testing with several local departments in summer 2008.

In our proposed third year of effort, there will be two interdependent efforts designed to ultimately produce a fieldable tracking system for firefighters. TRX Systems will be primarily working to enhance the mapping capabilities of the current software and enhance the Firefighter Sentinel System. Additionally, we want to combine Received Signal Strength Identification (RSSI) technology with overall framework being developed by the TRX system component. RSSI is a measure of the power of a wireless (radio) signal. We use RSSI to measure the distances between a firefighter and the command unit and a firefighter and other firefighters at the site of an emergency. The weaker the signal power, the further the firefighter is from the receiving unit. (The receiving unit can be the command base station or another firefighter.)