FireTracker: Using beacons and indoor positioning to enhance firefighter’s training exercise scenarios

Abstract

This master thesis presents the FireTracker Indoor Positioning System (FireTracker) for tracking movement of firefighters in cold smoke diving exercises. The research presented in this thesis is a part of the iComPAss project (Inquire Competence for better Practice and Assessment), a collaboration between NORCE (Norwegian Research Center) and the University of Bergen. The research went through design and development that included testing and feedback from Sotra Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). Much of the development in this thesis was done with a co-student. This Design Science research project engaged four iterations of design, development and testing. The result, FireTracker, comprised of a mobile application, a web application, and a back-end server. With the use of Bluetooth beacons, the system was able to create visualizations based on firefighter movements in an exercise building. The two first iterations ended with a test of the system, followed by an interview. The prototype was tested with the SFRS in these iterations. The third iteration ended with a heuristic evaluation with four IT-students. The feedback given from these tests was used to further improve the prototype. In the final evaluation, the prototype was field trialled with the SFRS in a live exercise. The system was tested multiple times in several sessions. After the test, the firefighters involved in the testing were interviewed and given questionnaires to assess their opinions of the system. The results presented in this research are based on the analysis of the data collected in the evaluation of the final prototype.