Search and rescue operations can range from small, confined spaces, such as collapsed buildings, to large area searches during missing person operations. K9 units are tasked with intervening in such emergencies and assist in the optimal way to ensure a successful outcome for the mission. They are required to operate in unknown situations were the lives of the K9 handler and the canine companion are threatened as they operate with limited situational awareness. Within the context of the INGENIOUS project, we developed a K9 vest for the canine companion of the unit, aiming to increase the unit’s safety while operating in the field, assist the K9 handler in better monitoring the location and the environment of the K9 and increase the information provided to the Command and Control Center during the operation.

Despite the technological progress achieved by our society, natural or man-made disasters continue to pose a challenge and put to the test the organization and preparedness of government apparatuses. The loss of life and property following calamities motivates citizens into action. In response, volunteer Urban Search And Rescue (USAR) organizations are established with the aim of providing help when needed. Just like their government funded and run counterparts, these organizations try to use what technology has to offer to improve their efficiency. However, they face challenges due to their limited funding and inability to access certain resources such as licensed spectrum for their communications. This situation is further deteriorated because civilian communication infrastructure cannot be relied upon to be available in case of disasters. Communications are paramount for any operation, let alone USAR. To address this need, we have designed and built a field deployable communication system that is able to leverage what existing communication infrastructure is available and utilizes 802.11ax and LoRaWAN that operate in unlicensed spectrum to provide wireless local connectivity. The performance and suitability of the system have been tested in various small and large-scale exercises, while the range and transmission speed achieved by 802.11ax over its predecessors are determined through a measurement campaign. In this article, we report the results and lessons learned from our approach to fill this communication gap and the suitability of the selected technologies for the role.

STRATEGY project aims at selecting and implementing existing, evolving and new standards within solutions, tools, procedural guidelines and recommendations. The project will streamline and validate technical and organisational interoperability in a fully transboundary configuration with means of standards through the implementation of use cases involving EU and National Standardisation bodies. The main objective is to enhance the resilience of EU against all types of natural & manmade disasters (multi-hazard approach), through validating the standards of next-generation solutions and procedures ensuring an effective and efficient collaborative response. This article presents the validation activities carried out for two pre-standardisation items entitled ‘Specifications for Digital Scenarios for Crisis Managements’ and ‘Requirements for acquiring digital information from victims during Search and Rescue operations’. The results of the developments and the implementation and evaluation through a Full-Scale Exercise are presented which aimed at collecting feedback from key crisis management stakeholders which included first responders, academia and researchers, industry and public authorities.