VitalResponder®: wearable wireless platform for vitals and body-area environment monitoring of first response teams

Abstract

Under the VitalResponder® (VR) line of research, mostly funded by the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)-Portugal program, we have been developing, in partnership with colleagues from CMU, novel wearable monitoring solutions for hazardous professionals such as first responders (FR). We are exploring the synergy between innovative wearable technologies, scattered sensor network and precise localization to provide secure, reliable and effective first-response information services in emergency scenarios. This enables a thorough teams’management, namely on FR exposure to different hazardous elements, effort levels and critical situations that contribute to team members' stress and fatigue levels.