An Augmented Reality Framework for First Responders: the RESPOND-A project approach

Augmented and Mixed Reality are promising technologies that can help First Responders in emergency situations by presenting the information in novel ways, extending situational awareness and supporting decision-making. However, the use of these technologies for heterogeneous types of users and roles in emergency management requires particular approaches. This paper presents an interdisciplinary approach. The proposed framework enhances emergency response operations mainly through: 1) The presentation of geospatial information in heterogeneous and interactive ways; 2) The management of aspects related to the health of First Responders and treatments of casualties of all kinds involved in the emergency; 3) The use of video as a key enabler in decision-making; and 4) Multimodal interaction capabilities to help handle the information with less intrusive ways. We present the set of components that compose this framework running on different types of hardware devices and describe their applicability in multiple challenging situations in collaboration with a larger set of tools.