First responders receive an enormous volume of data from other responders, dispatchers, command centers, victims, and onlookers while receiving and relaying information to medical personnel. This means that responders have to synthesize a large amount of information in a short time.
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS S&T) Science and Technology program https://www.dhs.gov/scuebce-and-technology called “Next Generation First Responder” (NGFR) Apex program, along with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) https://www.jpl.nasa.gov are working together to develop a state-of-the-art human-like reasoning system designed to assist first responders in synthesizing high level data while at the scene of an emergency.
The system called the “Assistant for Understanding Data through Reasoning, Extraction, and Synthesis” or referred to as AUDREY was tested in 2017. The AUDREY system is similar to the voice-activated device on a smartphone. AUDREY is personalized to the individual responder and has the capability to recognize first responder specialized language.
AUDREY uses bio-inspired neural symbolic processing for cognitive reasoning. The system is able to leverage human intelligence and collect data to achieve better machine intelligence to provide insight that first responders need at crucial times during an emergency.
DHS S&T tested the AUDREY software pilot at the Multi Agency Communications Center (MACC) in Grant County Washington. Plans are to pilot AUDREY at the Hastings-Quinte Paramedic Services in Ontario Canada in early 2019.
As Doug Socha, Chief Paramedic for Hastings Quinte Paramedic Services reports, “Piloting a system like AUDREY is the next step in next generation first responder technology. After I heard about AUDREY’s capabilities to support responders with instant decision-making, I saw an opportunity where this type of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can benefit paramedics from a healthcare system point of view.”