A telepresence system for canine search in an urban search and rescue environment

Two crucial factors in urban search and rescue operations are time and data acquisition to establish situational awareness. In a fluid progression, emergency responders locate casualties and develop rescue plans, as timely response usually leads to more saved lives. The main challenge is to rescue casualties quickly without emergency responders being injured in the process - in a harsh and often unpredictable environment. Our research demonstrates that emergency responders can improve their situational awareness in a dangerous disaster situation with the aid of search canines augmented with our telepresence system - Canine Augmentation Technologies (CAT). CAT is a system that integrates a set of technologies: wireless mesh network; wearable computing; sensors; and actuators. The goal of our research is to show that it is possible to impart the sensed, real-time situation of a dog through telepresence to a remote human who can use this information to safely find trapped people in buildings having suffered structural collapses.