'Guardian Angel' AI System For Firefighters

The NASA-designed agent collects data on temperatures, gases and other vital signals - then crunches the stats to guide firefighters when they are tackling a blaze. Mark James, from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said: "Because of all this data the sensor sees, firefighters won't run into the next room where the floor will collapse." The system uses sensors mounted on the firefighters' clothes - monitoring their GPS position, the heat level in surrounding areas, and whether any dangerous gases or chemicals are around. Audrey stands for Assistant for Understanding Data through Reasoning, Extraction, and sYnthesis. It is backed by the US Department of Homeland Security, and could also be used by police officers and other first responders. It has been in development for nine months and will be tested in the field next year.