Firefighter Location and Rescue Equipment (FLARE)

描述(由申请者提供)：2010年，Q-Track开展了一个内部研发项目，在亨茨维尔消防局的建议和投入下，开始开发消防员位置和救援设备(FLARE)系统。8月3日，我们在2010年WPI PPL研讨会上参加了消防员救援演习。这次演习需要将救援人员引导到一座多层建筑中一名“失踪”的消防员那里--这一演习极具挑战性，以至于只有三名参赛者配备了系统，参加研讨会的两家市场上拥有“商业”消防员定位系统的供应商都没有提交系统进行评估。Q-Track的照明弹原型系统实现了7分钟的救援--比进入WPI进行测试的两个最先进的惯性系统分别需要9分钟和12分钟的时间更快。我们的成功登上了《波士顿环球报》和《消防安全》杂志。由于缺乏继续发展的资金，Q-Track不得不搁置该项目。Q-Track寻求资金，以实施新的概念验证系统，以克服我们最初努力中发现的弱点。目前的机会挑战了当前集中式指挥控制架构中的惯性跟踪和高频、短波长无线定位模式。我们建议将Q-Track的创新、低频、长波长NFER RTLS应用于消防员位置感知的挑战性问题，通过一个即使在没有通信的情况下也能实现个人自救和引导的分散系统。Q-Track提出的耀斑努力始于设定规格。然后，我们将使用我们现有的NFER RTLS硬件来实现一个FLARE原型系统。我们将收集经过建筑物的NFER(“Flare”)概念验证的RF响应数据，并使用这些数据集来开发“RF面包屑”算法。RF面包屑算法收集并比较来自FLARE标签的顺序RF响应数据，以识别一个标签何时跟随另一个标签的路径。这种创新的方法使救援人员能够沿着遇险消防员最初走的同一条路径引导救援人员找到残疾消防员的准确位置，从而避免了从墙的错误一侧瞄准消防员的传统问题。Q-Track还旨在开发一个概念验证音频用户界面，以提供消防员指导和位置感知。最后，Q-Track将完成概念验证演示，并制作一段演示系统性能的短视频，以便与我们的最终报告一起提交。我们的目标是展示这样一种能力，即能够可靠地引导蒙着眼睛的救援人员沿着第一个人所走的相同路径找到被照明弹标记的人的位置，或者使被蒙住眼睛和迷失方向的人能够返回到他们进入设施的路径。 公共卫生相关性：Q-Track建议通过将突破性的近场低频无线定位方法与创新的RF面包屑算法相结合，显著增强消防员的态势感知和安全。拟议的系统将使救援人员能够沿着遇险消防员的原始路径引导到残疾消防员的准确位置，从而避免试图引导救援人员穿过墙壁的问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In 2010, Q-Track undertook an internal R&D project to begin developing a Firefighter Location And Rescue Equipment (FLARE) system with advice and input from the Huntsville Fire Department. On August 3, we participated in a firefighter rescue exercise at the 2010 WPI PPL Workshop. The exercise required guiding rescuers to a "lost" firefighter in a multi-story building - an exercise so challenging that only three entrants fielded systems and neither of the two vendors with "commercial" firefighter location systems on the market who attended the workshop submitted systems for evaluation. Q-Track's FLARE prototype system yielded a seven minute rescue - faster than the nine and twelve minute times from the two state-of-the-art inertial systems entered for testing at WPI. Our success was featured in the Boston Globe and fire safety trade press. Lacking funds to continue development, Q-Track had to place the project on hold. Q-Track seeks funds to implement a new proof-of-concept system to overcome the weaknesses identified in our initial effort. The present opportunity defies the current paradigms of inertial tracking and high-frequency, short-wavelength wireless location in a centralized command and control architecture. We propose to apply Q-Track's innovative, low-frequency, long-wavelength NFER RTLS to the challenging problem of firefighter location awareness with a decentralized system enabling individual self-rescue and guidance even without communications. Q-Track's proposed FLARE effort begins with setting specifications. Then, we will use our existing NFER RTLS hardware to implement a prototype FLARE system. We will collect RF response data for an NFER ("FLARE") proof-of-concept traversing a building and employ the data sets to develop an "RF breadcrumb" algorithm. The RF breadcrumb algorithm collects and compares sequential RF response data from the FLARE tag to identify when one tag is following the path of another. This innovative approach enables a rescuer to be vectored to the precise location of a disabled firefighter along the same path originally taken by the firefighter in distress, thus avoiding the conventional problem of homing in on a firefighter from the wrong side of a wall. Q-Track further aims to develop a proof-of-concept audio user interface to provide firefighter guidance and location awareness. Finally, Q-Track will complete a proof-of-concept demonstration and produce a short video demonstrating system performance for submission with our final report. Our objective is to demonstrate the ability to reliably vector a blind-folded rescuer to the location of a FLARE tagged individual along the same path taken by the first individual, or to enable a blindfolded and disoriented individual to retrace their entry path out of a facility. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Q-Track proposes to significantly enhance firefighter situational awareness and safety by merging a breakthrough, near-field, low frequency approach to wireless location with an innovative RF breadcrumb algorithm. The proposed system will enable a rescuer to be vectored to the precise location of a disabled firefighter along the original path of the fireighter in distress, thus avoiding the problem of attempting to route rescuers through walls.