Thales tackles crises

Reading-based Thales Research and Technology (TRT) UK have unveiled three new technologies which could help emergency services save lives.

A GPS system that works inside buildings could help firefighters find their way through smoke-filled rooms and allow for more organised searches. The technology is being developed alongside two tools for managing crises.

The GPS system will be integrated into the firefighters uniforms to allow a control centre to track their progress and positions within a building during a call out. This means any firefighters who get into trouble could be identified earlier and commanders can immediately see which parts of the building have not been searched.

UltraWideBand (UWB) radio is used to position the GPS units relative to each other and units outside the area, which are located using traditional GPS. This means the position of the unit can be calculated to within a metre.

‘Hampshire fire service told us that if it can’t be used in small operations, they wont use it in large ones.’ said David Harmer, chief engineer at TRT. ‘So we had to come up with a system which be used for all call outs.’