Introduction

The project “Design, Prototyping and Evaluation of Next Generation Public Safety User Interfaces” addresses the Goal 2 of the NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program – User Interface (PSIAP-UI): Research on the Effectiveness and Transferability of AR/VR Simulations.

In the near future, first responders from the disciplines of emergency medical services (EMS), fire safety and law enforcement will benefit from an interoperable single high-speed broadband LTE network supported by FirstNet.

Soon, first responders will have the opportunity to learn the precise location of indoor and outdoor points of interest, receive realtime data analytics that are relevant to the mission and have assurances for clear and reliable mission critical voice communications, all through highly secure and resilient systems. All this technical advancement and the opportunities it brings to public safety organizations (PSOs) need to be developed into novel systems operated by first responders. These systems will have user interfaces (UIs) that should be effective, efficient and unobtrusive, as they will be engaged by first responders during critical situations.

This project aims to design, prototype and evaluate user interfaces for the next generation public safety ecosystem and its first responders.

How?

• User-centered approach that can make the deployment and adoption of next-generation user interfaces reflect the first responders requirements and contexts of use.
• Partner with local PSOs in order to fully understand the needs and expectations of first responders
  • First responders contribute through their feedback and experience
• Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) as a simulation platform to evaluate UI designs.
  • Through VR, we can achieve high levels of realism with computer simulation.
  • There are no risks to the user
  • Simulations can be repeated and tweaked as many times as necessary with little effort

Project Outcomes

The final outcome of the project will have a transformative impact on all public safety disciplines by offering a collection of user interfaces that have been demonstrated to be effective and efficient in the context of each PSO specific requirements.

When technology becomes available, the designed PSUIs will be instrumental for the adoption of next generation user interfaces by the public safety community.