Technologies to monitor the risks to which professionals are exposed to in extreme environments already exist
25th June 2019
Wearable sensors, an IoT based platform for monitoring the exposure to dangerous levels of different agents and peaks of physiological stress of first responders' teams and an analysis engine of biomedical and environmental data that is capable of detecting different hazardous states for these professionals are technologies that will be publicly presented tomorrow, 26 June, in Porto at the headquarters of the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC).
These three patent protected technologies are part of the results of the VR2Market project (Vital Responder to Market Project), which was supported by the CMU Portugal Programme and that is now coming to an end, aiming at creating synergies between innovative wearable technologies, sensor networks, IoT and accurate tracking systems in order to explore new ways of monitoring first responders, such as firefighters, police officers or paramedics and thus improving their safety and occupational health.
"With these technologies, we can better protect our first responders, but not only that, as the solutions that we developed can also be customised to other risk professionals and even to new scenarios. The technologies have already been tested in extreme environments, with firefighters, for example. Up until now, professionals only used carbon monoxide sensors in this type of situations, and when these devices were available", explains Duarte Dias, a researcher of INESC TEC’s Centre for Biomedical Engineering Research.
The public closing session of VR2Market will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at INESC TEC, and the technologies developed under the project will be available to use and exhibited at 4:00 p.m.
The three technologies will be included in the products of a new spin-off company known as WeSENSS. The new INESC TEC spin-off aims at developing new wearable devices applied to several types of professionals and scenarios. “At the moment, we are incorporating our sensing technologies of the professionals into the UNO platform, belonging to the EQS group which, among other services, monitors the industrial facilities in the oil field”, exemplifies INESC TEC’s researcher.
This project was developed by INESC TEC, IEETA, Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), Biodevices SA, CMU – Robotics Institute, Pitsburgh and CMU – Silicon Valley, having the support of companies such as Biodevices and Petratex and a funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) within the scope of the CMU Portugal Programme.
More information on the public presentation of the results may be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfABg2T1fE8WRUeZoUVlqMUWtSs5d42DTCQ4XsZDhWjjV9CcQ/viewform
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For more information:
Joana Coelho
Communication Service
INESC TEC
FEUP’s Campus
Rua Dr Roberto Frias
4200-465 Porto
Portugal
Tel.: +351 22 209 4297
Mob.: +351 924 4 44 321