Capstone Project

FireSpace

Problem

In 2017, nearly 60% of firefighter injuries were the result of hazardous conditions, such as slipping or falling. As fire seasons grow longer and more dangerous, wildland firefighters need improved situational awareness for their safety and for easier crew dynamics in the field.

Approach

The team conducted 5 hours of expert interviews with active wildland firefighters and supervisors who provided them with insight into user needs and pain points of current technologies.

Solution

FireSpace is a GPS tracking device that utilizes T-Mobile's Narrowband-IoT network and can switch to long range radio transmission (LoRa) to allow for data sharing in low to no coverage areas. The device pairs to a companion app via Bluetooth Low Energy in order show firefighters real-time locations on downloaded geospatial PDFs maps.

View the team's poster here (PDF)