SBIR Phase I: Biometric IoT system for First Responders

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve the safety of firefighters through the research and development of a real-time, wearable sensor system comprising a biometric heads-up display and accompanying analysis tools. This device collects each firefighter?s vital signs in real-time, displays the information via a heads-up display, and alerts them if they are in danger. Simultaneously, it will send the data to authorized officials for real-time strategic decision-making. By receiving access to life-critical information, the commander can make informed decisions on the allocation of key resources during the hectic scene of an emergency. Firefighting is chaotic; every year over one million firefighters risk their lives to protect others. Over 50% of the deaths in firefighting are caused by overexertion and stress, which can induce heart attacks as well as other serious medical issues. Furthermore, around 70,000 firefighting injuries occur each year. The proposed system aims to reduce the amount of firefighting injuries and subsequent costs, which totaled $7.8 billion in 2004, but the design is not limited to firefighting. The proposed system can be easily adapted to serve similar occupations such as military personnel and industrial workers. The proposed project may be the first to monitor the effects of the extreme nature of fire incidents with physiological stressors and provide this data in real-time. The proposed technology could significantly improve the occupational safety of firefighters and further enhance the scientific knowledge created by studying their physiological states. The proposed project includes three main technical objectives: 1) The research and development of a rugged wearable system that will monitor the physiology of firefighters in real-time. 2) The research and development of a machine learning algorithm to identify key markers that will indicate the exertion and stamina levels of first responders in chaotic environments. 3) The development of a long-range radio system capable of transmission within large urban structures comprising various possible interferences. All three objectives will consist of two pilot studies with an intermittent development phase in between, where feedback from the first pilot study will be incorporated into both the hardware and software. It is expected that the outcomes of this project will demonstrate a significant reduction in firefighter injuries, paving the way for a clear return on investment for the partnering fire departments.