If fires or floods strike, how will NATO use science and technology to respond? Experts from MIT joined NATO scientists at a disaster relief exercise to test out the latest innovations.
Synopsis
Experts from the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in collaboration with the United States Department of Homeland Security joined scientists and civil emergency responders from NATO and partner nations at a multinational emergency response exercise in Bosnia and Herzegovina to field-test various technological and scientific innovations in the area of search and rescue. This is the 17th international field exercise organised by NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) and the first one hosted by Bosnia and Herzegovina. Over 1,200 participants were tested on international cooperation and interoperability in disaster response, including water rescue and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) detection, protection and decontamination. The NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme, or SPS, supports scientific research in various fields of technology and innovation. It was widely involved in the exercise, field-testing both a cutting-edge incident command system and two telemedicine projects. Interviews with programme directors and scientists utilising new technologies in the field on location in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Transcript
TEXT ON SCREEN
WHEN DISASTER STRIKES
AND CONFUSION FOLLOWS
EMERGENCY RESPONDERS CAN USE ‘NICS’
THE NEXT-GENERATION INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM
-SOUNDBITE- (ENGLISH) Greg Hogan, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
‘’It’s a map-based system so it gathers information in from both field users and in from command headquarters and synthesises that information so that you can see it on maps, and then also pushes that information out into the field so responders in the field know in real time what is going on.’
-SOUNDBITE- (ENGLISH) William N. Bryan, Undersecretary U.S. Department of Homeland Security
‘This is the first time it was field-tested here with the multiple countries engaging with this technology and it’s been very effective and really helps them better orchestrate and manage their first response.’
‘We designed some of the sites in the virtual reality and in this way we can test the whole scenario, the whole communication chain and everything. So in this way they can also know how to work and what they can expect from different countries in these kind of situations when they have to work together.
-SOUNDBITE- (ENGLISH) Claudiu Zoicas Team Leader, NATO EADRCC
‘And they are all connected so they have avatars that are assigned to themselves and they can take the decisions. It allows us to gradually dive into the field exercise.’
THE MULTINATIONAL TELEMEDICINE SYSTEM
IS ANOTHER NATO-FUNDED PROJECT
ALLOWING MEDICAL EXPERTISE
TO CROSS BORDERS
-SOUNDBITE- (ENGLISH) Gabriel Vasilyu, Software engineer, Multinational Telemedicine System (MNTS)
‘The MNTS system allows calling a remote doctor, maybe from the other side of the world, who will see this data that is shown on this screen and will be able to provide useful feedback for the consultation.’
-SOUNDBITE- (ENGLISH) Lt Col Jugslav Achkoski Co-director, Smart I Advisory Rescue System
‘This is the sensor that is on the patient’s chest and we are receiving the data about the heart rate and respiratory rate and everything is going via Bluetooth on this tablet.’
-SOUNDBITE- (ENGLISH) Dr Eyup Turmus, NATO SPS Advisor and Programme Manager
‘These projects will eventually help to get the information, the right information, into the right hands, as quickly as possible, allowing the best decisions to be made, saving lives and property.’
END
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