Atos joins Horizon 2020 program’s Search & Rescue project to support First Responder teams during rescue operations

Atos joins Horizon 2020 program’s Search & Rescue project to support First Responder teams during rescue operations

(PRESS RELEASE) MADRID, 12-Nov-2020 — /EuropaWire/ — Digital transformation leader, Atos announces its participation in the European research project Search & Rescue (S&R). The project aims to support First Responder teams during rescue operations – following natural disasters, accidents or terrorist attacks – with cutting-edge tools and digital solutions in order to facilitate the detection of victims. Over the span of 3 years the new technologies that will be developed will improve the capabilities of the rescue teams by bringing more accuracy when looking for victims that could be trapped, by enabling a quick localisation or by facilitating overall decision-making.

Search & Rescue is part of the Horizon 2020 program and involves 28 different organizations from 12 European States. The consortium will develop an interoperable framework including systems, equipment, training and awareness – so responders always have easy and fast access to innovative solutions, even in remote locations. The open architecture platform will enhance decision-making and provide a dynamic common operational picture of the crisis through next-generation solutions including:

• Front-End equipment systems and collection tools to acquire relevant and sensitive information in real-time (e.g. sensors, drones, rescue robots, smart glasses, smart uniforms, adults’ and children’s first aid devices);
• Data Fusion and Mediation Systems to fuse the information coming from heterogeneous sources and will provide a more detailed and accurate situational/context awareness to the decision-makers and command centres;
• Back-End applications, services and portals to provide decision support capabilities to crisis stakeholders. The platform will be equipped with heterogeneous autonomous assets and sensors that efficiently provide various sources of data, indoor positioning and communications.

Through its Research and Innovation group in Iberia, Atos will contribute to the validation of the services and tools which will include Machine Learning models and Artificial Intelligence algorithms integrated into the Decision Support System (DSS) of the platform, over strategic, tactical and organisational levels.

The platform will be validated through a series of large scale pilots addressing seven different use-cases: victims trapped under rubble (Italy); plane crashes, mountain rescue (Greece); earthquake and heavy storms (Austria-Germany); expanded forest fires and threats to industrial areas (Greece); resilience support for critical infrastructures and CBRN[1] risks (Romania); chemical substances spill (Spain).

According to Jose Gato, Search & Rescue Project Manager, R&D department at Atos in Iberia, “Our involvement in this program is absolutely key given that our expertise in AI and other advanced digital technologies is crucial in order to properly and effectively validate the execution of pilots and the achievement of the objectives through a Systems Performance Assessment.”

Atos is a global leader in Public Safety with a global and modular offering to support governments and local authorities. Atos’ solutions improve the emergency process and risks identification, the effectiveness of interventions and the safety of the officers. Atos’ portfolio includes the GEMMA emergency management system which facilitates call taking, dispatching, coordination and first-responder action.

For more information: https://atos.net/en/solutions/command-control-systems/public-safety

For more information about “Search & Rescue”, visit: https://search-and-rescue.eu/ or follow the project on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Horizon 2020: with a budget of 79 billion euros, Horizon 2020, is an European Union’s research and innovation program, refocuses funding on three priorities: scientific excellence, industrial leadership, and societal challenges.

¹ Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear

About Atos
Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with 110,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue of € 12 billion. European number one in Cloud, Cybersecurity and High-Performance Computing, the Group provides end-to-end Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud, Big Data, Business Applications and Digital Workplace solutions. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos|Syntel, and Unify. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.
The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space.

Media Contact:
Lucie Duchateau
lucie.duchateau@atos.net
+33 7 62 85 35 10

SOURCE: Atos SE