Author: tecnalia

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SIXTHSENSE beta field trials in mountain rescue scenario

7th to 10th of March 2023, Kopaonik, Serbia

After addressing key issues in the Beta prototype identified during the Postojna field trials, the system was once more deployed in the realistic conditions of first responder operations.

The consortium gathered at the Kopaonik mountain, hosted by the Serbian Mountain Rescuers (SMR), to test the system in the conditions of winter rescue scenario.

 

Over 40 researchers, developers and practitioners from 10 different organizations came to the event. In total 17 first responders from Mountain Rescue Service of Serbia the Association of Mountain Rescue Organizations of B&H took part in the tests which were performed in 4 sessions.

Similarly to the tests performed with the firefighters, the activity was organized in a circuit with 4 exercises relevant to the mountain rescuers:

1:Vertical rope climb

2: Uphill march

3. Avalanche victim excavation

4. Ski lift evacuation

The SIXTHSENSE Beta prototype in the full communication chain was tested with 6 electrotactile messages adapted to the requirements of the mountain rescue first responders.

For the very first time the SIXTHSENSE electrotactile communication system was fully functional in the harsh conditions of the field trials.

Over 400 individual messages were received by the first responders over the course of the trials.

After only minutes of training to use the electrotactile communication system and in spite of highly intensive physical activities, the overall message recognition success rate was over 70%, with some subjects having over 90% scores.

In addition to testing the electrotactile communications and gathering the physiological data during these activities, the cognitive load and effects of fatigue on the decision making process were assessed in tests designed and administered by the researchers from JRD.

Finally, the first version of a SIXTHSENSE garment developed based on the GAMMA specifications was presented to the consortium members and tested with the first responders to gather their impressions and suggestions.

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SIXTHSENSE stakeholder workshop at NRT2022

November 15th – 16th 2022, Larnaca, Cyprus

Beta stakeholder meeting took place on the first day of the Nikosia Risk Forum 2022 in the main lecture hall.

The aim of the workshop was to disseminate and publicize the project and the knowledge progress achieved, and the technological improvements incorporated into system prototypes.

The workshop agenda had been structured in the following sections:

o  15:00 – 15:30: Project presentation (project concept, methodology, technologies and field trials).                     

o  15:30 – 16:00: Demonstration of Beta prototype. The vest prototype was shown and demonstration videos were played to show how the prototype functions in real scenarios. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXVEvi_QHcQ).

o  16:00 – 16:30: Project exploitation plan and business model.

o  16:30 – 17:00: Open discussion & Survey.

 

The Project had a booth in the main hall of the venue throughout the congress. System prototypes and materials with project information were displayed here allow the visitors to have a closer look at the technology, discuss the project with the consortium representatives and get more engaged.

This enabled dissemination of the project results to more potential stakeholders that might not have attended to the special event.

 

Due to the importance of the forum, various media attended to cover the congress and the SIXTHSENSE coordinator was interviewed by Euronews as it can be seen at 7:54 min of the news.

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Field Trials in fire fighting scenario – Postojna, Slovenia​

From 7th to  9th November of 2022 the SIXTHSENSE consortium gathered in the impressive facilities of the Postojna firefighters to test the Beta prototype in the field. Over 50 practitioners, technology developers and researchers took part in the three day event.

The consortium took the opportunity of a physical meetup to arrange a number of co-development sessions between the practitioners and the technology developers. Most of the WPs were addressed, discussing open questions and presenting potential solutions to the experienced fire fighters to gain their perspective on the potential issues.

Fifteen firefighters took part in the full testing protocol going over an exercise circuit designed by the experts from ULE to produce high physiological strain in a controlled manner. 

In addition to gathering the physiological data during these activities, the cognitive load and effects of fatigue on the decision making process were assessed in tests designed and administered by the researchers from JRD.

The SIXTHSENSE Beta prototype with the full communication chain was tested for the first time in the relevant conditions.

 It has 5 distinct communication links, as shown in the figure below:

1.     Exchange between the command center dashboard and the online data warehouse

2.     Exchange between the online data warehouse and the mobile device (MOTOTRBO Ion)

3.     Exchange between the mobile device and the team leader’s BACQ (BLE connection)

4.     Exchange between the team leader’s BACQ and each team member’s BACQ (proprietary radio)

5.     Exchange between the BACQ and BetaStim of one first responder (BLE)

The communication loop was completed with the SIXTHSENSE electrotactile messaging, designed for the fire fighters. Six different messages were implemented based on earlier research results and requirements gathered in the WP7 co-development sessions.

While the electrotactile communication was tested with firefighters in Rijeka, and with mountain rescuers in Belgrade and Kopaonik, this  was the first time that it was tested while they were performing functional tasks and withing the full communication chain.

Illustration of the six dynamic stimulation patterns. Numbers signify the activation order.
Pads with the same number are activated at the same time. Red-colored pads are activated with a high frequency and green with a low.   

 

 

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Pilot testing of Beta prototype for electrotactile stimulation in relevant conditions for mountain rescue scenarios of interest

From March 24th until March 28th the pilot testing of Beta prototype for electrotactile stimulation was tested in Kopaonik, the biggest mountain resort in Serbia.

The aim was to test the electrotactile communication protocols defined in D7.8 with the Beta prototype electrode defined in D7.6 in relevant winter conditions.

Ten participants took part in the endeavour which comprised skiing in crowded tracks and uphill walking during the day and at night.

The results clearly indicate that the approach is feasible and does not pose a significant distraction in performing these activities.

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A foreign mission and a SIXTHSENSE use-case scenario

While some of us were spending our vacation during hot August days enjoying the sea view, in the late night of August 4th to August 5th a foreign KHD mission in Northern Macedonia was alerted, and a team of Lower Austrian Forest Fire specialists and other comrades (including members of FF Gumpoldskirchen and ELFR, as well as additional teams from Slovenia and Bulgaria) was assembled.