Modern technologies offer the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency of rescue operations, improve communication and ultimately save lives. There are numerous touchpoints and aspects of digitalisation in rescue services, ranging from innovative individual solutions to measures for the digitalisation of the entire rescue chain.
Connected rescue mobility
The use of telematics and GPS technologies has become an integral part of modern rescue services. They allow tracking the positions of emergency vehicles in real time and determining the fastest route to the scene. Identifying the nearest emergency vehicle and the optimal route to the scene of an accident can make a huge difference when every second counts in an emergency. This is where the use of AI-based methods is beneficial, as they consider the current traffic situation and other influencing factors to precisely calculate the fastest route. Further improvements can be achieved by utilising additional data sources through intelligent networking with existing urban systems, such as sensors and cameras for traffic management. Integrating intelligent traffic infrastructure can implement prioritisation systems for emergency vehicles, enabling a green wave where traffic lights on the optimal route turn green automatically. Accessing connected infrastructures can also be helpful even before the arrival of rescue forces. The number of cameras in public spaces is steadily increasing, and their images can be used by control centers for initial situation assessment, potentially saving more precious time. AI-supported procedures can also be employed to determine the nearest camera.
Drones as flying first responders
Drones offer significant potential for use in rescue operations. Initially, drones can be deployed for faster on-site situation assessment. However, drones are also suitable for transporting medical supplies and equipment. The first pilot projects with drones that can transport a mobile defibrillator to the data subject before the rescue services arrive have already been successfully completed. In combination with telemedical support, first responders can provide assisted first aid on site.
Telemedical support
The ubiquity of mobile devices offers great opportunities for the rescue services, particularly in the field of telemedicine. By using telemedical tools or apps or pre-installed video conferencing services, first responders can be guided on site by experienced doctors, which significantly improves the quality of first aid. With additional features such as an automatic translation function (text-to-speech), geo-information or even file sharing for transmitting images, such services can provide valuable additional information beyond mere instructions. Telemedical applications can play a crucial role not only in initial emergency care. In rural areas, specialised medical professionals are often not immediately available. Here, specialists can also provide valuable real-time support using telemedical services.
Some of the aforementioned examples have already been practically tested. At the end of May, some solutions were presented and discussed at a meeting of the eco Mobility Competence Group by the companies and projects 5urvive, 5G-Reallabor in der Mobilitätsregion Braunschweig-Wolfsburg and COREVAS GmbH & CO.KG.
An episode of the eco podcast “Das Ohr am Netz” (The ear to the Internet) was also dedicated to the topic of how digital fire brigades, rescue services and the like already are: “Smart and connected rescue services: When digitalisation saves lives”.
Conclusion
Digitalisation in the rescue services offers enormous opportunities to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of rescue operations and ultimately save lives. Improved communication, the use of modern technologies such as GPS and telematics as well as the use of telemedicine applications and drones can significantly improve the quality of emergency care.
However, there are also major challenges for widespread implementation. As rescue services are decentralised and usually organised locally, the lack of standardised interfaces for data exchange poses a major problem for the interoperability and networking of various services. Besides technical hurdles, health data is particularly sensitive, and the requirements for data protection and security are particularly high. However, the future of the rescue services lies in the successful integration and networking of digital technologies.
