An Automatic, Robust, and Efficient Multi-User Breadcrumb System for Emergency Response Applications

Abstract

Abstract-Breadcrumb systems (BCS) aid first responders by communicating their physiological parameters to remotely located base stations. In this paper, we describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of an automatic and robust multi-user breadcrumb system for indoor first response applications. Our solution includes a breadcrumb dispenser with a link estimator that is used to decide when to deploy breadcrumbs to maintain reliable wireless connectivity. The solution includes accounting for realities of buildings and dispensing such as the height difference between where the dispenser is worn and the floor where the dispensed nodes are found. We also include adaptive power management to maintain link quality over time. Moreover, we propose UF, a distributed cooperative deployment algorithm, to achieve longer breadcrumb chain lengths while maintaining fairness and high system reliability via selecting appropriate benefit and cost functions. We deployed and evaluated our system in real buildings with several different first responder mobility patterns. Experimental results from our study show that compared to the state of the art solution [27], our breadcrumb system achieves 200 percent link redundancy with only 23 percent additional deployed nodes. Our deployed breadcrumb chain can achieve 90 percent PRR when one node fails in the chain. In addition, by applying the UF coordination algorithm, the system can maintain connectivity for up to 87 percent longer distances than baseline greedy coordination approach while maintaining 96 percent packet delivery ratio.

RDSP: Rapidly Deployable Wireless Ad Hoc System for Post-Disaster Management

“…The concept of breadcrumbs is introduced by the authors in [26][27][28][29]. Breadcrumbs are tiny and cost-efficient relay devices.…”

“…Hence, they may forget to drop a relay or merely miss the deployment signal. To solve this problem, an automatic breadcrumb dispenser is proposed in [29]. A Utility Function (UF)-based algorithm is proposed that sets criteria to deploy new breadcrumbs automatically.…”

“…In this section, the performance of the RDSP scheme is compared with the UF scheme [29] by deploying the real time multihop communication network.…”

A survey on rapidly deployable solutions for post-disaster networks

“…When the first responders enter an emergency zone, their first priority is not relay deployment, and therefore, they may bypass dropping a relay or may simply miss the deployment signal. To overcome this problem, an automatic breadcrumb dispenser is proposed in [15]. Along with the dispenser, an algorithm based on a utility function is proposed.…”

Characterization of Path Loss and Large-Scale Fading for Rapid Intervention Team Communication in Underground Parking Garages

“…In some environments, however, wireless communication is particularly challenging and setting up a direct communication link between the RIT inside the burning building and the base station outside is not possible. To ensure a reliable wireless connection when entering large buildings, an ad hoc breadcrumb network is proposed and further developed in [3,4,5,6,7]. However, such developed breadcrumb systems must remain reliable in even the most challenging of environments that an RIT can face.…”