Applying Wearable Sensors to Avalanche Rescue: First Experiences with a Novel Avalanche Beacon Florian Michahelles, Peter Matter, Albrecht Schmidt and Bernt Schiele, In International Workshop on Mobile Computing "Assistance, Mobility, Applications" (IMC Workshop), Rostock, Germany, 2003. pdf

Abstract: We present a novel approach to enhance avalanche companion rescue using wearable sensing technologies. The time to find and extricate victims is most crucial: once buried by an avalanche, survival chances drop dramatically alre ady after the first 15 minutes. Current technology offers only information on the location of a single victim, however statistics show that in many case there are multiple victims. In our research we address this issue and also investigate how the use of wearable sensors can further enhance such devices. We report on experiments using sensors to measure vital signs and environmental c onditions and their suitability for avalanche rescue. Visualization for this type of application is addressed and two design sketches, both visuali zing multiple victims and urgency, are presented. The architecture of current devices is extended by components to integrate these additional functions. We developt a prototypical implem entation of an avalanche beacon supporting multiple victims and visualization of vital signs. This prototype was used for further experiments and offered a basis for participatory evaluation with practitioners in the field. A short overview of these results is presented.

imc.pdf

Bibtex Record

@inproceedings{alife_imc03,
 title =        {{Applying Wearable Sensors to Avalanche Rescue: 
                  First Experiences with a Novel Wearable Avalanche Beacon}},
  author =       {Michahelles, Florian and Matter, Peter and Schmidt, Albrecht and Schiele, Bernt},
  year =         {2003},
  booktitle =    {International Workshop on Mobile Computing 
                  "Assistance, Mobility, Applications" (IMC Workshop)},
  address =      {Rostock, Germany},
  month = {June 17-18}
}