Wireless Personnel Safety System (WPSS), a Baseline towards Advance System Architecture

Personnel safety is always an important issue while performing activities in risky environments. In our study, a maintenance work at ATLAS detector in Large Hadron Collider at European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is considered. Current technology is more or less stand-alone and none of the available technologies are integrated in a fully reliable system. The scientific objectives of this paper are; to demonstrate the basic architecture of the Wireless Personnel Safety System (WPSS) (prototype) and to figure out an advanced platform for augmented and virtual reality technologies for a Personnel Safety System (PSS), including features, methods and tools. The aim is to technically advance and integrate them as part of a PSS to improve safety, reduce errors and decrease the time needed for scheduled or sudden interventions in extreme environments. The research challenges lie in the development of real-time data-transmission, instantaneous analysis of data coming from different inputs, local intelligences in low power embedded systems, interaction with multiple on-site users, complex interfaces, portability and wearability. This study is a part of the EDUSAFE1 project, a Marie Curie ITN project focusing on research into the use of Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) during planned and emergency maintenance in extreme environments.