Wearable or portable device including sensors and an image input for establishing communications interoperability and situational awareness of events at an incident site

• US 20090174547A1
• Filed: 11/10/2005
• Published: 07/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Incorporated (BAE Systems Plc)
• Original Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Incorporated (BAE Systems Plc)
• Inventors: Roche, Christopher, Boal, Mihir D., Tonseth, William E., Greene, Michael F., Delaney, William J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,665,087 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.130
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0476 Cameras to detect unsafe condition, e.g. video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/003 Address allocation methods and details
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/007 Details of data content structure of message packets; data protocols
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/14 Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/06 using electric transmission , e.g. involving audible and visible signalling through the use of sound and light sources

Abstract

Common handheld transceivers operating on different frequencies with differing protocols can be provided with a mini module attached to the handheld transceiver that not only converts the audio information available from the handheld to the format and frequency of the temporary incident area network, the mini module also provides a sensor platform coupled to a wide variety of sensors whose data gathering capabilities in the vicinity of the individual are used to provide an incident commander or other individuals at nodes on the network with data to ascertain the conditions at the incident scene in the vicinity of the individual. Thus not only can information pertaining to the immediate health of and danger to emergency personnel be ascertained quickly, the transmission of sensor and image data over the same network provides situational awareness for the incident commanders and indeed for all those coupled to nodes on the network.

Claims

1. For use in an ad hoc temporary incident area network in which a module is coupled to a transceiver to convert audio information available from the transceiver to the format and frequency of the temporary incident area network without using direct sensor data transmission, apparatus for providing situational awareness to individuals coupled at nodes on the network, comprising:

a sensor coupled to one of said modules for coupling sensor data to said module;

a circuit at said module for uploading sensor data to said network; and

,

means at a node for downloading the sensor data carried by said network and for displaying said sensor data at said node, thus to reliably provide sensor data by using said network.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, and further including a camera at said module for providing image signals as an output thereof, said uploading circuit uploading said image signals.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said image signals include video signals.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said image signals include still picture signals.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sensor is taken from the group consisting of location sensors, oxygen tank sensors, gas sensors, HAZMAT sensors, photo-ionization sensors and biometric sensors.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, and further including an incident commander terminal having a display coupled to said node and wherein the sensor data transmitted over said network is displayed for said incident commander at the associated incident commander display terminal, thereby to provide said incident commander with situational awareness based on said sensor data.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said sensor data includes information relating to the location of said module and wherein said display includes a map and an icon indicating the location of said module.

8. In an ad hoc temporary incident area network that includes modules at nodes thereof for converting verbal communications from a standard transceiver to the frequency and format associated with the temporary incident area network, man-portable apparatus for providing situational awareness to an individual at a node on said network, comprising:

a handheld transceiver having audio in, audio out and push-to-talk outputs available external thereto; and

,

a mini module carried by said transceiver coupled to said outputs for at least converting verbal communications associated with said transceiver to a frequency and format compatible with said network, said mini module including circuits for transmitting said verbal communications between modules over said network.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said transceiver includes a battery and an external power connection contact and wherein said mini module includes a power input connection contact coupled to said external power connection contact for the powering of said mini module form the battery of said transceiver.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, and further including a sensor coupled to said mini module, said mini module including a circuit for uploading data from said sensor to said network.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, and further including a predetermined number uniquely identifying said mini module, and wherein said uploading circuit uploads said unique identifying number.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, and further including a camera coupled to said mini module and wherein said uploading circuit includes a circuit for uploading the output from said camera to said network.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said camera is taken from a group consisting of video cameras and still cameras.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, and further including wearable sensors coupled to said mini module adapted to be worn by the individual using said transceiver, said sensors coupling data collected by a sensor that relates to events in the immediate vicinity of said individual to said mini module, whereby sensor data uploaded to said network and available at a node thereof is downloadable to said node for providing situational awareness of conditions in the incident scene at said individual, thus to provide situational awareness based on sensed conditions at said individual.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said sensor includes a camera, whereby images in the vicinity of said individual are transmitted over said network to said node to support situational awareness.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, and further including a local wireless network for coupling said sensor to said mini module, whereby said sensor can be worn by said individual and wirelessly connected to said mini module.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said wireless network includes a Blue Tooth network.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, and further including a wireless headset communicating with said mini module, whereby verbal communications can be established between said mini module and said network regardless of said transceiver.

19. A method for providing situational awareness for an incident commander on a node of an ad hoc temporary incident area network from observations made by an individual at the incident scene, comprising the steps of:

providing the individual with a transceiver, a mini module and at least one sensor coupled to said mini module;

uploading data from the sensor onto the ad hoc network; and

,

identifying the mini module uploading sensor data, whereby the incident commander is provided with sensor data acquired from an identified individual in the vicinity of the mini module.

20. The method of claim 19, and further including the steps of identifying the location of the mini module at the incident scene, uploading the location of the mini module to the network, downloading the location of the mini module at the node to the incident commander, and displaying both sensor data and location data to the incident commander.