Hot off the press news Smart fireman's jacket protects against heat stress

Related Vendors

Universität Salzburg

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

Salzburg Research and the University of Salzburg developed an "intelligent" firefighter's jacket with integrated sensors on behalf of the fire service outfitter Texport.

Firefighters are under enormous stress during a fire operation, because they are exposed to high temperatures that burden the body, and personal protective equipment often weighs 20 kilograms or more. This means that rescue operations and searching for people in distress require a lot of strength and endurance. In addition, there is enormous psychological stress due to the high responsibility and unpredictability of situations in firefighting. Last but not least, firefighters put themselves in danger to save others. In the USA alone, up to 50 firefighters die each year from the effects of overexertion that occur during and through an operation. Rising temperatures in the firefighter suit can lead to a tipping point where people can collapse. This is to be prevented by the new type of smart protective clothing, as stated by Salzburg Research and the University of Salzburg.

Detect the tipping point early with sensors and AI

Together with Texport, they looked for ways to automatically prevent heat stress using sensors and a cooling system directly in the firefighter's jacket. The challenge initially concerned the aspect of how to automatically recognize the right time when firefighters are approaching the critical point so that one can intervene in time. Sensors were incorporated into the textiles for this purpose, which register sweat or the humidity in the operational jacket and thus estimate, say the experts. In a first laboratory study, 19 participants sat in the sauna with a protective suit, helmet and oxygen bottle, and then answered questions for a cognitive test after additional physical strain on the treadmill—also with all the equipment on. In the laboratory study, the algorithm was also trained to calculate the time from which it gets too hot for the firefighters in the suit.