Finding hydrants with AR

When there's a fire, things have to happen quickly. An important task when planning an operation is to quickly find the nearest suitable hydrants. This is often not easy, as the hydrants can be obscured by objects, cars or even hedges. Especially at night and in bad weather, valuable time can therefore be lost. An app with AR function is now intended to help the fire brigade during their operations.

The GVZ Building Insurance Canton Zurich and ti&m The Hydrant Finder app has been developed to help the fire brigade respond more quickly. The app uses GPS to show all hydrants within a radius of 500 metres. By clicking on the hydrant, firefighters get additional information on the exact distance, the required hose length, the year of construction of the system and also on the connections.

But the real highlight of the app is the augmented reality function. Via the camera, the app shows the exact location and also the distance to the hydrant in the real world. In this way, firefighters can navigate precisely to the location.

The idea for the app came about after a presentation by Marius Matter, Head Zurich and member of the management of ti&m, at a training session for the commanders of the fire brigades in the canton of Zurich. "Marius' descriptions of the potential of augmented reality immediately aroused our interest," says Kurt Steiner, Head of Fire Services at GVZ. "We then took the decision to develop a prototype together in the ti&m garage to test out the possibilities. The result was convincing, so that we finally developed the app into a complete product. We are convinced that it is an important help for the fire brigades. The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive."

Simple, one-handed operation of the app

From the beginning, the app's users were closely involved in the development. In addition, there were numerous practical tests and feedback rounds throughout the development process. As a result, the app sets new standards in the area of user experience and usability. For example, the app is designed in such a way that it can be easily operated with one hand, which can be particularly important in the field.

60,000 hydrants registered in the canton of Zurich

The app users can also contribute to improving the app. By means of a long-click on the map, they can report deviations in hydrant locations. The app currently lists more than 60,000 hydrants in the canton of Zurich.

The project also resulted in a scientific master's thesis. Three students from the HSR University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil developed the UX concept together with ti&m and GVZ. The results of the work can be viewed on the HSR website (PDF) and give an exciting insight into the development steps of the application.

Already last year reported we of a firefighter's helmet, which should facilitate the operation.

Source: moneycab