For members of public safety, technology usability cannot be overlooked. Developing user interfaces with first responders’ input and feedback is key to ensuring these technologies are effective, efficient, and highly satisfactory for the communities they serve.
Credit: NIST
To accelerate research and development (R&D) for public safety user interfaces (UIs), NIST’s Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division has awarded $9.7 million to eight recipients for the Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program (PSIAP) Augmented Reality (AR) funding opportunity.
AR allows users to interact with technologies in unique ways and has broad potential to support first responders, including reducing cognitive overload, enhancing navigation, and supplementing real-life training solutions.
However, widespread adoption of this new technology for first responders has its obstacles. Public safety encompasses a broad range of disciplines and roles, making it challenging to find an all-in-one solution. Furthermore, a lack of market for public safety UIs can lead to quality and accessibility barriers of these technologies for firefighters, emergency medical services (EMS), and law enforcement. Therefore, identifying public safety use cases and accelerating R&D is key to the successful adoption of AR technologies for first responders.
Meet the Awardees
While AR adoption by public safety agencies may be possible soon, more research is still needed to ensure the inclusion of first responders’ experiences into the product development process. That is why PSCR is partnering with the following award recipients to spur market adoption of this emerging technology. These researchers are collaborating closely with public safety organizations (PSOs) across the United States, which informs their unique a ..
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