Consortium

About

The Södertörn Fire Brigade Association (SBFF), comprised of ten municipalities, is Sweden’s third-largest rescue service, dedicated to fire prevention and fire rescue. Their efforts include organizing trainings and events to disseminate information and updates to keep the communities informed. With 500 employees serving around 630,000 inhabitants, they work tirelessly to ensure a safer and more secure society.

Role in the project

In SYNERGISE, SBFF serves as a first responder represenative and play a crucial role, offering end-user feedback to shape the technology and its developmental process. SBFF will host the First Responders workshop and also a component field test.

Team

About

Gezamenlijke Brandweer, known as the Joint Fire Department, is a partnership between the Municipality of Rotterdam and roughly sixty companies in the city’s port and industrial area. They provide firefighting and emergency services, with funding contributions from both member companies and the municipality. Additionally, they’ve taken on the responsibility of managing a company fire brigade on behalf of affiliated companies.

Role in the project

In the SYNERGISE project, GB serves as a first responder partner and contributes an invaluable end-user perspective by offering feedback on technology and its development. GB is the lead of the work package for System integration, testing and evaluation and knowledge capitalisation and it will be the host of the first system field test in which all tools are fully integrated and tested in realistic environment. It will provide its training grounds and test sites during the technology development process.

Team

About

​The Scientific and Research Centre for Fire Protection (CNBOP) a national fire research institute, with the mission to ensure the country’s security in the field of fire protection, crisis management as well as civil protection and civil defence. CNBOP will contribute specialists from various units, including project managers, technical experts, and professional firefighters from State Fire Services.

Role in the project

CNBOP serves as a first responder partner. Their expertise plays a vital role in supporting the technical development of the SYNERGISE tool at multiple levels, ensuring the project’s success. CNBOP will host a component field test in which individual technologies will be tested in a realistic environment.

Team

About

​Hellenic Rescue Team of Attica is a union of citizens and a community centre, consisted entirely of volunteers that wish to offer their time, expertise, knowledge and personal effort in assisting fellow citizens in case of an emergency. It is an independent, non-profit organisation that operates mostly for Search and Rescue (SaR) in three main fields: Wilderness (mountains, forests, non -urban areas), Water (open sea, coastline, rivers, lakes, floods) and Urban (earthquakes, floods, tsunamis). For each field of operations there is a corresponding element of highly trained individuals, ranging from level-1 support members to level-4 fully operational members, all acting as a team and tailored to each specific operation at hand.

HRTA is consists of several divisions: The Wilderness SaR division, the Water SaR division is responsible for operations in the open sea, in inland lakes, rivers and floods, the Urban SaR provides the location, extraction and initial medical stabilisation of victims trapped in confined spaces due to natural disasters, structural collapse, transportation accidents, collapsed trenches and mines. HRTA has developed a training program both theoretical and practical, based on the international accepted INSARAG and FEMA guidelines and manuals.

HRTA is registered with the General Secretariat Civil Protection (GSCP) of Greece. HRTA collaborates closely with EMAK (Fire Service Special Task Force responsible for SaR) and other Firefighting Services in common exercises, training and operations. Also, HRTA is actively involved in the JRCC (Greek maritime Search and Rescue) action plan.

Role in the project

HRTA serves as a first responder partner and acts as a domain expert in the fields of Wilderness, Water & Urban SaR operations for the consortium, providing insights and team-level viewpoint in terms of requirements, top-level specifications and safety procedures. It will also act as an integrated tester and operator, end-user and demonstrator of the new procedures and technologies that will be designed & developed during this project. Finally, it will act as a society-level disseminator for related SaR organisations and the general public in Greece via participation in open events and educational sessions presenting the project and its results.

Team

About

​ASTRIAL GmbH is a leading provider of integrated Geospatial Command and Control (C2) and Situational Awareness (SA) solutions for Public Safety and Security applications for first and second responders (i.e., Search and Rescue teams, Fire brigade and Emergency Medical services, Civil Protection Agencies, Police and Coast/Border guard authorities) as well as for large Infrastructure owners and operators and Smart City stakeholders. With core technology built on open standards, ASTRIAL GmbH offers a wide range of mission critical enterprise solutions empowering governments and businesses around the world to make better and faster operational decisions.  Its product line includes C3I enterprise software packages that respond to different operational requirements of Public Safety and Security Agencies such as Operational Resources Tracking, Incident Management and Dispatch, Logistics and Assets Optimization, Physical Security Information Management and Natural &Technological Hazards Crisis Management. The common goal though, is to provide effective decision support, to simplify operations, to provide Situation Awareness (SA), a Common Operational Picture (COP) and collaboration tools across organizations, to collect and disseminate data in the field and to coordinate response units and system users. In addition, ASTRIAL GmbH is developing a wide range of auxiliary security, safety, and surveillance applications such as seismic and acoustic systems and UAV-enabled detection systems for structural health monitoring and rapid damage assessment, vibration monitoring, critical infrastructure perimeter protection as well as detection, classification and tracking of objects at land and at sea.

Role in the project

ASTRIAL is the Technical and Scientific Coordinator of the SYNERGISE project. It ensures that the technological development occurs in accordance with the functional requirements agreed with the first responders. It also plays the role of the Integration Manager, assesses the technological progress together with the technology developers, identifies the challenges and iterates the use cases and needs in dialogue with the end-users. It will also develop the Common Operational Picture (C3I/IMS) and Field/HQ Comms. Furthermore, it leads the work package for Multi-agency collaboration and Incident Management and Augmenting the Common Operational Picture. Also, it will actively publish the project results in high impact journals and present project results in relevant scientific conferences.

Team

About

​Established in 1760,  the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is the largest internationally oriented university with campuses in Trondheim, Gjøvik, and Ålesund. NTNU’s academic scope spans across various disciplines, encompassing science, technology, humanities, social and health sciences and economics.

Role in the project

In the SYNERGISE Project, NTNU provides their comprehensive experience and knowledge in research and development, particularly through its Autonomous Robot LAB (ARL), to contribute to the enhancement of the SYNERGISE tool. Furthermore, it leads the work package on advancing the environment representation and robot autonomy. Also, it will actively publish the project results in high impact journals and present project results in relevant scientific conferences.

Team

About

​Tohoku University is a top-class national research university established 3rd in Japan having three core values of ‘research first’, ‘open-doors,’ and ‘practice-oriented research and education’. Founded in 1907, Tohoku University is Japan’s third national university and consistently ranks among the top 5 in the country.  Tadokoro Laboratory researches into rescue robotics for response, recovery and prevention of disaster for 25 years, and has a history of developing various rescue robots, leading major national projects on disaster robotics, and applying robots to disasters including the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.. Partnered with the Touch Cyberphysical AI Research Center (TCPAI), they are at the forefront of AI development in Japan, renowned for their academic excellence.

Role in the project

In SYNERGISE, Tohoku pioneers research into a snake robot, SNAKE, integrated as a payload for the legged robot, ANYmal, to navigate tight spaces and gather vital information in order to pose significant risks for first responders. Also, it will actively publish the project results in high impact journals and present project results in relevant scientific conferences.

Team

About

​SYSNAV, a  French company is specialized in the development of tracking sensors designed for GPS-denied environments, including buildings, underground areas, and urban settings. Their real-time 3D tracking devices have versatile applications, serving first responders, special forces, dismounted soldiers, and industrial workers, in addition to enhancing ground vehicle anti-collision measures and supporting autonomous driving.

Role in the project

In the SYNERGISE Project, SYSNAV plays a critical role in advancing and overseeing the development of wearable tracking devices, ensuring constant security and supervision for first responders. Also, it will actively present project results in relevant industry events.

Team

About

​TNO, an independent organization specializing in applied science, leverages its expertise to assist first responders in demanding environments through advanced technology like robots, remote sensors, and intelligent data analysis tools. Their primary focus is on enhancing the interaction between humans and advanced systems, using insights into human information processing, communication, and teamwork to optimize cooperation with AI systems.

Role in the project

In SYNERGISE, TNO develops the crucial Human Machine Teaming Framework that outlines the interaction between First Responders and various technological components based on ethical, legal, and societal implications. Also, it will actively publish the project results in high impact journals and present project results in relevant scientific conferences.

Team

About

​CERTH/ITI is a prominent Greek research institute specializing in information and communication technologies research and innovation. It is part of CERTH, a leading research organization in Greece. CERTH/ITI conducts cutting-edge research and collaborates with various stakeholders to advance knowledge and technology in ICT. It plays a vital role in driving innovation and contributing to the growth of the ICT sector in Greece and beyond, participating in numerous R&D projects since 1998, including the Disaster Resilient Society program.

Role in the project

In SYNERGISE, CERTH/ITI acts as a partner contributing to technical tasks. CERTH/ITI designs and develops an augmented reality framework to enhance human-robot interaction by controlling robots and improving information visualization. Furthermore, with regard to information management, they provide tools for aggregating and fusing information from multiple sources and offer decision support based on this information.

Team

About

Established in 1976 and funded by the Korean government, ETRI is the nation’s largest research institute dedicated to information and communication technology. ETRI’s commitment to pioneering communication technologies has contributed to South Korea’s leadership in the global ICT industry. Their research and innovations have helped shape the landscape of modern communication technologies and have far-reaching implications for various industries and society as a whole.

Role in the project

​Based on the above R&D experiences, ETRI aims to develop core technologies that can be applied to emergency communication environments such as fire of large buildings or complex, large scale traffic accidents, and chemical leakage accidents of factories, etc.. The core technology includes but is not limited to auto configurable emergency networking technology including a federation of standalone network (e.g., private 5G) with public networks and smart glasses communication service applied to VR/AR/MR/XR (eXtreme Reality)/TR (Trusted Reality)/Metaverse. Also, it will actively publish the project results in high impact journals and present project results in relevant scientific conferences.

Team

About

​VIRNECT, a pioneer in eXtended Reality (XR) solutions, is a proud member of @XR Associates and part of the @KT Metaverse One Team, while also serving as consultants within the @SKT Digital Alliance, with a steadfast commitment to fostering digital innovation.

Role in the project

VIRNECT presents an extensive expertise, positioning them as a crucial partner in the SYNERGISE project, where their role involves creating a digital representation of the environment on smart glasses, ensuring clear guidance through potentially dangerous and challenging areas, thereby elevating overall situational awareness and safety. Additionally, they provide augmented reality services which help gain access to centralized know-how and real-time data to assist in the understanding of the site. It will address the challenges related to multi-party collaboration and AR visualization in environments with low speeds or limited connectivity and link sensor data to the visualization system. By optimizing these two areas based on VIRNECT’s Remote (AR remote collaboration platform) and VIRNECT View (AR visualization software) in connection to the AR smart glasses it is expected that first responders can give first responders a robust and reliable solution that gives them the clarity and information they need instantly to save lives untethered from their current limitations.

Team

About

ARTTIC Innovation GmbH, AI, a company of the PNO Consultants Group, the European leader in collaboration engineering, consultancy and management services for international research and technology related partnerships. The team at AI has been built since 2006 and has set up and managed numerous projects in EU funding programmes. Currently, AI is collaborating with multi-national consortia in more than 28 EU funded projects. ARTTIC Innovation GmbH builds and assists collaborative undertakings and in particular European research consortia and networks from all businesses and research sectors, small and large, private and public, to ensure their collaborative innovation ventures are as successful as possible. The service offer of ARTTIC Innovation GmbH comprises provision of hands-on support, strategic consulting, and added value services all along the innovation life cycle: from the definition of a project idea and concept, the identification of a suitable funding scheme and the proposal development, to the management of the project and the dissemination and exploitation of the project results. The company is successfully supporting several projects in the areas such as Security, Energy, Aeronautics, Life Sciences and Health in project management, dissemination and communication, exploitation and knowledge management. AI provides proven methods and tools dedicated to the successful implementation of (collaborative) research and innovation projects. AI represents a team of more than 30 professionals in Germany (Munich and Berlin). It is drawn from a broad industrial and academic base and forms a truly multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team with a wealth of experience. AI’s staff is specialized and highly skilled for managing and providing innovation services to collaborative research and innovation projects.

Role in the project

​In SYNERGISE, ARTTIC supports the consortium in the daily management and administrative tasks to ensure the collaboration is working efficiently, the project is properly monitored and decisions and actions are prepared and taken according to the project progress.

Furthermore, ARTTIC is the WP leader developing a Dissemination and Communication Strategy, supporting the consortium with the coordination and practical execution of dissemination and communication tasks (including the production of the appropriate dissemination support material and communication channels, such as the public website.

Team

About

​Plus Ethics, established in 2018 as a private spin-off from Spain’s Miguel Hernández University of Elche, plays a crucial role in assisting European R&D and research initiatives. Their expertise in addressing complex ethical, privacy, and legal challenges in the digital domain ensures compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Role in the project

In the SYNERGISE project, Plus Ethics leads the task on Social, Ethical, Legal, Privacy and Inclusiveness, Risk Monitoring and therefore are responsible to provide valuable insights into social, ethical, legal, and privacy matters.

About

The R2 Network is a self-sustaining platform that unites the public safety community to empower first responders and address disaster response challenges with transformative technologies. Created by industry experts, it offers a strategic nationwide network for innovation, funding resources, and collaboration among first responders and innovators in the public safety sector.

Role in the project

In the SYNERGISE project, The R2 Network assists in making the innovations developed accessible to first responders by providing commercialization resources to overcome deployment challenges such as funding and procurement. Also, it will actively present project results in relevant industry events.

Team

About

Wearin’ is part of the Swiss-based technology group Conextivity, a world leader in physical connectivity for demanding environments. Wearin’ has a strong expertise in the IoT field, its mission is to improve the safety and coordination of first responders by providing meaningful insights in real time. Powered by AI, the IoT platform developed by Wearin’ enables immediate action in the event of a crisis, while generating predictive analysis capable of preventing future risks.

Role in the project

​Wearin’s role in SYNERGISE encompasses monitoring first responders’ vital signs and developing personalized AI biometric algorithms, along with identifying potential risks to first responders from environmental conditions, primarily utilizing gas sensors.

Team

About

The Robotic Systems Lab at ETH Zürich specializes in developing highly capable robots for operation in challenging environments, with a strong focus on legged robots. Their research involves creating innovative actuation methods, versatile designs, and advanced control algorithms inspired by human and animal locomotion to enhance the skills and autonomy of complex robotic systems for real-world applications.

Role in the project

The Robotics Systems Lab’s goal in this project is to deploy ANYmal, their quadrupedal robot, in hazardous environments alongside first responders. ANYmal’s agile mobility allows it to navigate through challenging areas and obstacles that might be inaccessible to other robots. It will also serve as the primary platform for a group of other robots and is equipped with an arm for manipulation tasks such as opening doors and closing valves. Also, ETH will actively publish the project results in high impact journals and present project results in relevant scientific conferences.

Team