By Mohana Ravindranath
NextGov
Firefighters of the future, according to the National Institute for Standards and Technology, might have sensors in their protective suits constantly alerting them about external temperatures and chemicals. The suits might contain embedded wireless communication systems, letting the wearer contact a team outside or a health status sensor that could notify them if the wearer is injured.
Those are just a few solutions outlined in NIST’s new Research Roadmap for Smart Fire Fighting, which lays out how the Internet of Things can aid first responders. The report was written in conjunction with the Fire Protection Research Foundation, the research affiliate of the National Fire Protection Association.
Other “cyber-physical systems” mentioned in the report include robots, (like those being researched by NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) that could navigate debris or conditions too dangerous for humans, and technology that could gather information about the scene from smart appliances located at potential disaster sites, such as air conditioning units, elevators, sprinklers and other devices.
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