Intelligent Internet of Things Architecture to Improve First Responder Communications

Machine-to-machine communications (M2M) and the Internet of Things (IoT) are revolutionizing many industries and improving communications and operations, however adoption in public safety is still in its infancy. The emergence of first responder broadband networks introduces new ways to respond to incidents. Devices worn by first responders, or placed on victims during triage, can transmit voice, along with two-way video and data streams, including location, vital signs and environmental conditions, allowing unprecedented incident management capability. Today, first responders are starting to use wearable devices, such as sensors embedded in firefighter suits, and head-mounted cameras and heads-up displays used in law enforcement. However, most of these devices do not interoperate with each other or with existing land mobile radio (LMR) networks, which will realistically remain the primary voice communication devices for many years to come. Thus, interoperability between heterogeneous devices and networks remains a challenge for effective emergency response. In this effort, Ejenta will develop a scalable technical architecture that allows heterogeneous communication networks and wearable devices to interoperate to improve first responder communications. The architecture will use a standards based approach and will incorporate big data technologies that allow first responders to rely on increasingly large amounts of live streaming telemetry data (e.g., from wearable cameras and vital signs sensors, to road side sensors to social media feeds). The architecture will incorporate cloud-based intelligent agent services to route data and reduce information overload, with the goal of increasing first responder situational awareness and supporting real-time decision making capabilities.