Smart City Internet of Things Innovation (SCITI) Labs: Autonomous Platforms Fact Sheet

Emergencies can happen anywhere, which is why public safety personnel are trained for search and rescue operations in a variety of environments. Some of the environments are difficult, and conditions can endanger responders and those they aim to rescue. For this reason, one of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Smart City IoT Innovation (SCITI - pronounced ‘CITY’) Labs initiative’s focus areas is autonomous platforms (AxPs) for search and rescue operations. The other two focuses include investigating building sensor suites and an on-body communications hub.