A year ago, EDGE started with Deveryware and Omnitor Project AIMES that proposes to offer to the public safety sector an innovative solution for an emergency response system, incorporating advanced Internet-enabled multimedia capabilities. One of the primary project objectives is the delivery of a broader accessibility to a public emergency service for all, based on modern multimedia and data sharing capabilities, envisioning a fully pan-European interoperable emergency response system.
The AIMES challenge benefited from the extensive support of the members of the AIMES End-users Advisory Board and already produced a set of relevant results, namely the publication of the user and technical requirements for the AIMES System, the design of the AIMES System’s architecture that will support the new AIMES functionalities and the implementation of the primary components of the AIMES testbed.
Amongst the new functionalities proposed by the AIMES System, it is highlighted the interoperability between the SIP (NG112) and the Web (WebRTC) worlds that, upholding the ETSI standards, will extend the coverage of a larger number of mobile applications (Apps) dedicated to emergency response. Also, abiding to the PEMEA technical specifications ensured that emergency Apps may complement existing technologies, such as broadcast and SMS messages, as well as overcome the challenges of the Apps in a roaming context in what refers to the access to the 112 service. In addition to voice calls, the AIMES System will offer the opportunity to use chat or video sessions, enlarging the number of available channels for citizens to reach out to emergency services. To complete the new end-to-end communication chain advocated by the innovative AIMES System, the new First Responders App will bring forth to the field detailed emergency information, thus contributing to improve situational awareness and response efficiency.
In 2021, the next steps encompass the implementation of the different components of the AIMES System, their integration and validation in three demonstration scenarios, involving relevant stakeholders in the emergency services and public safety sectors.