Designing the Future Emergency Service Vehicle: Needs, Approach, Benefits and Competition

Abstract

Public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) responders must manage on different emergency situations in land, water and air. Emergency response vehicles (ERVs) are specially equipped and on permanent standby for serious incident response. Modern ERVs are fully of electrical, electronic and ICT systems. However, there are possibilities of improvement in various aspects of ERVs. That will enhance performance, effectiveness and optimum usage of resources. The Finnish MOBI (Mobile Object Bus Interaction) research and development project aims to create a common international ICT infrastructure for all ERVs, based on better integration of ICT systems, applications and services. Another aim is to extend this project to other ERVs in European countries, permitting the standardisation of tools and technology in EU countries. One model that gives a practical and structured framework for innovation work is the NABC approach created by the Stanford Research Institute (SRI). NABC highlights the market needs, solution approach, solution benefits and competition dimensions of any solution being created. Our approach is to divide ERVs’ ICT systems into four layers (a vehicle infrastructure and power management layer, a communications layer, a service platform and common services layer, and an actor-specific services layer) between which have standardised interfaces. The benefit is that open standards ease especially small and medium enterprises coming to the business, which improves on supply of new PPDR ICT products and degreases their prizes. In addition to cost savings, interoperability and availability of new PPDR ICT services improves. Traditionally good cooperation between different authorities in Finland enables development for the whole PPDR sector at the same time. This paper applies NABC framework for evaluating the on-going MOBI project and its results so far, and ensuring that the project continues as a right direction.