[Satellite Today – 5-20-08] Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space demonstrated a new satellite system for guiding and monitoring emergency service vehicles responding to fire or other incidents in tunnels and buildings, the companies announced May 20.
Liaison (location-based services for the enhancement of working environment) is intended to make the duties of the fire brigade, police, and civil protection squads safer and more efficient. The system, developed in collaboration with the Italian National Fire Corp was presented during the “Location Systems for Emergency and Rescue Applications” workshop in Rome. The demonstrations involved the Italian Fire Corp, Red Cross Ares 118 and the Sussex (U.K.) police force in a pair of emergency scenarios — a blaze in a building and a car accident inside a tunnel.
Liaison is an integrated project co-funded by the European Commission under the 6th Framework Program and could play a significant role for future security applications, compatible with the GPS satellite system and with the planned Egnos and Galileo systems, the companies said.