Emergency rescue localization (ERL) using GPS, wireless LAN and camera

Abstract

Congestion avoidance in emergency situations is among one of many overlooked localization issues. During emergency situations (such as fires), sometimes the rescuers find it hard to find the best exit route from the inside to the outside of a building. Any time delay in decision making will risk the loss of lives. Therefore, an efficient Emergency Rescue Localization (ERL) system is needed to help rescuers find the best route from the inside to the outside of a building. Thus, we propose a new ERL that is based on the integration of a Global Positioning System (GPS), Wireless LAN and camera. In this proposed ERL, the integrated Wireless LAN (WLAN) and Camera are used to retrieve location information inside a building. Then, localization methods will be adapted to GPS-based localization when subjects are in open areas outside the building. Finally, we present our experimental results to illustrate the performance of the localization system for indoor and outdoor environment set-up