Dispatch Interface for Integration of Unmanned Aerial Systems into Public Safety Services

Abstract

Integrating unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the public safety services has the potential to increase the cap abilities of emergency response and disaster relief while protecting pilots from dangerous environments. In order to integrate UAS into public safety services a dispatch interface must be designed. This paper discusses the design of such an interface. Background research on public service dispatch, dispatch computer software, and specific UAS requirements was conducted, followed by an interview and ethnography study of an ambulance dispatch center. Using this information, various work domain and task models were created. These models formed the basis for the design of an integrated architecture for UAS dispatch as well as the features necessary for a dispatcher interface. A prototype was created to show a notional UAS dispatch interface.