I’ve written a few times in the past about some interesting projects that aim to improve the responsiveness of first responders in emergency situations. For instance, earlier this year I wrote about some interesting applications of big data and AI to improve hospital admissions. The Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) hospital group have analyzed ten years worth of data on hospital admissions, flu rates, weather and so on by its Trusted Analytics Platform (TAP). The aim is to better predict hospital admissions, and therefore better route people to the best facility.
TAP is an open source platform that uses machine learning to help analysis of data. The AP-HP project is the first to use the platform for time series analysis, but should the project be successful, it will be rolled out across all of the 44 hospitals in the group.
The system aims to provide admissions staff with accurate predictions up to 15 days in advance, thus hopefully providing sufficient warning to allow suitable staffing and other resources to be on hand in periods of high demand.
Entering the EndZone
One interesting technology operating in this space is EndZone, which is an enterprise platform that supports the responsiveness and efficiency of emergency response teams. The platform, which is developed by DMI, aims to flip the traditional ‘command and control’ model on its head and places decision making capabilities very much out into the field.
“First response and field work is dependent on up-to-the-minute situational awareness and clear communication,” the company say. “To address this need in the market, we’ve combined the best of breed in user experience from the commercial markets and lessons learned from our work with federal agencies. EndZone delivers the best of both worlds in a user-friendly format to help those on the front lines stay safe and better perform their jobs, giving teams the eyes, ears, and real-time data they desperately need today to become more agile and secure on the ground.”
The aim is to allow field staff to provide a quick and effective update of their status to central command centers during high intensity situations. For instance, it enables field operatives to receive unique instructions by using geo-fencing technology to track personnel in real time.
The platform also comes with real-time video streaming technology to allow staff to have up to eight video feeds at any one time, including of traffic cameras and those attached to field operatives. This, combined with easier data sharing allows more effective communication between the control center and field operatives, especially in high intensity scenarios.
Getting the right response to people as quickly as possible is undoubtedly of huge importance, so it’s nice to see a number of interesting innovations emerging in the field.
