Saving Those Who Save Us: Exploring the use of sensors with data visualization

Emergency rescue teams often experience a number of physiological stressors depending on the scenario they find themselves in. These stressors can take a variety of forms, including but not limited: high/low temperatures, low lighting, smoke, dangerous gasses, etc. These dangers exist for both human responders as well as search and rescue animals such as dogs. Besides the health risks, training the responders to work under such conditions is an expensive undertaking for search and rescue organizations. The use of environmental monitoring sensors can help reduce the risk of team member injury or loss, in terms of both overall health as well as monetary expenses, if utilized appropriately.

In this project, students will explore the basics of different types of sensor devices using the Texas Instruments SensorTag. They will consider how sensors can be used to protect lives of responders and investment of the organizations. Students will research and design their own experiment examining how environmental factors differ using the SensorTag to collect data and interpret it with a spreadsheet application such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

Author: Robert Bourgeois

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