ASTRID User Days 2022 workshops: a sneak preview
The ASTRID User Days will introduce visitors to new technologies that will enable emergency and security services to work more efficiently and safely. Here are a few of them.
ASTRID
The world of critical communications is changing rapidly. At the User Days, ASTRID will be organising various workshops to introduce its users to future developments. Four major themes are addressed. Next Generation Communication focuses on the development of a new mission critical broadband network for emergency and security services. The control rooms of the future will offer many more possibilities in the field of call taking and dispatching. There will also be a renewal of the Blue Light Mobile service, which today guarantees priority voice and data communication on the mobile networks of commercial operators.
And we take a closer look at ASTRID's training offer: what training courses are available and how does 'blended learning' - a combination of online and physical lessons - fit into that picture? These four topics will be addressed each day in separate workshops, both in Dutch and in French. They will take place in the main auditorium of Louvexpo.
Mobilidata - Agency for Roads and Traffic
In collaboration with the imec research centre, this year the Flemish government is launching 'Mobilidata', an application that should guide priority vehicles through traffic more quickly and safely. This smart technology brings two concrete improvements to the field. Road users will receive a notification via their smartphone that priority vehicles are approaching, so that they can form a rescue lane in time to make way. Intelligent traffic lights will also anticipate the approach of priority vehicles and ensure that the lights turn green as they approach the intersection. This smart technology will reduce response times and improve road safety for all road users.
EENA - European Emergency Number Association
The European Emergency Number Association (EENA) will host workshops on different themes at the ASTRID User Days. The first one is about the emergency number 112. How do the various European countries handle the calls they receive? And what possibilities does Next Generation 112 offer when connected devices and sensors provide extra data? Another theme is AED, the automatic external defibrillator. How can the position of these devices be mapped out better so that no valuable time is lost? And finally, public alert systems, such as BE-alert in Belgium, are looked at. By June 2022, all Member States must have such an alert system. What are the best practices in neighbouring countries and what technological developments are in the pipeline?
MONOcam - Police Netherlands
Many road accidents are caused by the use of mobile phones while driving. But catching offenders in the act is not easy and requires a large deployment of people and resources. That is why the Dutch police have developed an automatic system that can detect mobile phone use in the car: MONOcam. The technology uses artificial intelligence and can be deployed on the move. The Dutch police are examining the best way to share the software they have developed with other interested services.
I-Police
The police services in Belgium are undergoing a digital transformation. This transformation has been going on for a number of years now and has generated a lot of useful applications. Just think of licence plate recognition, the introduction of the Focus app, the digital declaration... In the future, new applications will be needed to gain insights and knowledge from the growing mass of data. The i-Police programme was recently launched for that purpose. At the ASTRID User Days, programme manager Thierry Van Dyck will give an update on the state of affairs and take a look at the ambitions of the programme.
