PARADIGM OF CANINE SUPPORT IN THE WATER RESCUE SYSTEM IN POLAND

With the development of society, water-related accidents occur frequently, highlighting the increasing importance of police in water rescue operations. Efficient water rescue depends on the rational combination and application of equipment. This paper focuses on the current field of police water rescue, thoroughly exploring the possibilities of combining various water rescue equipment. By analyzing the performance, characteristics, and applicable ranges of different equipment, the study examines the feasibility and advantages of their mutual compatibility. Additionally, closely integrating practical scenarios, it analyzes how to scientifically select and apply equipment combinations in different situations such as drowning rescue, flood relief, and water accident rescue, based on specific environments, rescue needs, and mission characteristics. The aim is to provide police with more targeted and operational equipment combination strategies in water rescue actions, enhancing rescue efficiency and success rates, and maximizing the protection of people’s lives and property.

Effective water rescue management requires careful assessment of historical data, prediction of future rescue locations, and proper allocation and deployment of resources to ensure effective and safe rescue operations in suburban environments. Emergency workers in suburban communities are faced with an increased probability of water rescues resulting from growing population and improved access to waterbodies. This study investigates 152 water rescues performed in suburban Chester County, Pennsylvania, between 2002 and 2008. Fifty percent of the rescues occurred during flood events and were characterized by many multiple, concurrent rescues. The remaining rescues were associated with recreational use of waterbodies and flooding of roadways due to inadequate drainage. In this study, the Water Rescue Probability Index (WRPI) is presented, which uses the spatial correlation of waterbodies, roadways, and population to predict water rescue locations. The WRPI predicted 88 percent of recorded rescues, demonstrating its use as a planning tool. Emergency managers should train and equip their first responders to national standards and must be prepared to use the National Incident Management System when large incidents occur.

The time-sensitive nature of water rescue operations demands effective strategies to reduce response times. This paper presents a comprehensive case study focused on improving incident response times in water rescues through the integration of water rescue drones. By analyzing existing response systems and evaluating the potential of drone technology, the study sheds light on the critical need for timely intervention in drowning incidents. The results highlight the challenges associated with current emergency response mechanisms in Germany and the promise of drone-assisted water rescue efforts. The findings emphasize the significance of this technology in enhancing incident response times, ultimately contributing to the reduction of drowning-related fatalities on a global scale.

In this paper, a Training and Support system for Search and Rescue operations is described. The system is a component of the ICARUS project (http://www.fp7-icarus.eu) which has a goal to develop sensor, robotic and communication technologies for Human Search And Rescue teams. The support system for planning and managing complex SAR operations is implemented as a command and control component that integrates different sources of spatial information, such as maps of the affected area, satellite images and sensor data coming from the unmanned robots, in order to provide a situation snapshot to the rescue team who will make the necessary decisions. Support issues will include planning of frequency resources needed for given areas, prediction of coverage conditions, location of fixed communication relays, etc. The training system is developed for the ICARUS operators controlling UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicles), UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and USVs (Unmanned Surface Vehicles) from a unified Remote Control Station (RC2). The Training and Support system is implemented in SaaS model (Software as a Service). Therefore, its functionality is available over the Ethernet. SAR ICARUS teams from different countries can be trained simultaneously on a shared virtual stage. In this paper we will show the multi-robot 3D mapping component (aerial vehicle and ground vehicles). We will demonstrate that these 3D maps can be used for Training purpose. Finally we demonstrate current approach for ICARUS Urban SAR (USAR) and Marine SAR (MSAR) operation training.

The results of the correlation analysis indicated that the body mass index (BMI) of rescuers had a minimal impact on the level of their general, special, and integral professional-applied physical fitness. At the same time, the results of tests assessing strength, endurance, and coordination abilities (such as pull-up hang, shuttle run, etc.), as well as the 400 m swimming test and the author’s comprehensive test, showed no significant dependence on BMI. This suggests that body mass does not substantially affect rescuers’ physical fitness outcomes, which is consistent with previous literature. In other words, even individuals with slightly elevated BMI values are capable of effectively performing professional water rescue tasks, provided they have a sufficient level of strength, endurance, and coordination. With increasing age, rescuers demonstrated a decline in pull-up hang performance, indicating a significant reduction in upper limb muscular endurance — a natural age-related phenomenon associated with decreased muscle mass and strength capacity. The age-related decline in performance on the author’s comprehensive test reflects reduced overall work capacity and power-speed abilities, leading to a lower level of integral professional-applied fitness among older rescuers. This, in turn, increases the risk of unsuccessful rescue operations. The observed correlations between physical fitness test results and the author’s comprehensive test confirm that the development of key physical qualities directly affects the effectiveness of professional performance and plays a crucial role in preparing rescuers for work in aquatic environments. Therefore, the correlation analysis conducted in this study supports the conclusion that improving aerobic capacity, strength, specific motor skills, and flexibility enhances both integral professional- applied physical fitness and the effectiveness of water rescue operations. These findings can be used to optimize training programs focused on the most relevant physical attributes for rescuers.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, drones) are being increasingly recognised as valuable tools inemergency response. In water rescue, their potential lies in accelerating detection, expandingsituational awareness and reducing risks to rescuers. However, systematic evidence from Central andEastern Europe is scarce. This article presents a retrospective, nationwide cross-sectional study ofdrone-assisted interventions by the State Fire Service (SFS) in Poland between 2021 and 2024. Datawere obtained from the Decision Support System (DSS) of the SFS and cross-verified with annualbulletins and official statistics. Incidents were identified by predefined water-related keywords.Variables included incident type: local threats (LT) or fire, season, year, intervention duration andsearch outcomes. Statistical analyses were performed using non-parametric tests with a significancethreshold of p < 0.05.A total of 1,155 drone-assisted interventions have been recorded, of which 169 (14.6%) were classifiedas water-related. Most were LTs (95.9%), with person searches as the dominant category. The numberof interventions increased steadily year by year (from 15 in 2021 to 93 in 2024). Mean interventiontimes varied significantly across years (p < 0.001) and seasons (p = 0.004), with the longest durationsin summer and the shortest in winter. No statistically significant association has been ascertainedbetween season and search outcome (χ = 8.39; p = 0.211). Regional differences were evident in boththe number and duration of interventions. The use of UAVs in Polish water rescue operations keepsrising, particularly in search missions. While UAVs enhance detection and monitoring, finaloutcomes depend on broader clinical and environmental factors. Findings support the systematicintegration of UAVs into national water rescue protocols, with emphasis on seasonal and regionalresource allocation, interoperable coordination between SFS, VWRS and SAR, and standardisedmission documentation to strengthen public health impact.

This study addresses the critical challenges in water emergency response operations by proposing a novel coupled architecture for dynamic knowledge graph deduction. The framework integrates three-dimensional entity modeling with scenario logic layers to support intelligent decision-making in complex water rescue scenarios. Through the development of a standardized ontology system encompassing 12 entity categories and 38 subcategories, the research establishes a comprehensive foundation for organizing diverse rescue elements including disaster entities, equipment parameters, and environmental constraints. A lightweight coupling mechanism between static attributes and dynamic rules was developed to achieve efficient knowledge representation and processing, while spatiotemporally constrained reasoning and bidirectional feedback mechanisms support real-time emergency plan generation and continuous optimization. Preliminary simulation results indicate that the framework has the potential to improve operational efficiency and decision-making quality compared to conventional methods under the tested conditions. The proposed system provides a solid foundation for transforming water rescue operations from experience-dependent to model-driven intelligent response systems, contributing to improved water emergency management and disaster response capabilities.

The article is devoted to the study of the current state and prospects of applying artificial intelligence in the system of training, certification, and professional development of ship crew members.It is substantiated that maintaining the training, certification, and professional development system for ship crew members at a high level and ensuring compliance with global standards at the current stage of development is impossible without the application of artificial intelligence.It has been established that, at present, the system of training, certification, and professional development of ship crew members in Ukraine is at the initial stage of digitalization through the implementation of relevant technologies.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight the contradictions in the current maritime education and training system (MET), which is based on competency‐based education, training and assessment, and to theorize the failure to make the training useful.Design/methodology/approachA case study of education and training in the international maritime domain was conducted. Data sources include historical documents, rules and regulations concerning MET, syllabi, handouts, sample questions, field notes, an ethnographic study in a maritime college and interviews conducted with experienced mariners and course lecturer.FindingsThere are contradictions in the education and training system that do not allow the targeted objectives to be fulfilled. Fundamentally, the assessment system has changed the objectives of the education and training practices from learning skills and knowledge required on‐board ships to passing competency examinations.Practical implicationsThe practical implication of this research is valuable for the International Maritime Organization, marine administration and maritime training institutes to think over the competency‐based system in practice today and how to improve the present maritime training and assessment system in order to achieve its authentic objectives.Originality/valueThis research identified and bridged the gap in literature and research of competency‐based training and assessment in the maritime domain and provides practical solutions for improving this system.

Knowing the location and environmental conditions of sailors that have fallen overboard can greatly facilitate open water search and rescue operations. Currently, active sensors that trigger an alarm when a sailor falls overboard exist, and it works by detecting a loss of signal from a transmitter. However, their applications have been limited because of the dependence on a working battery, as well as the fact that sailor location cannot be tracked beyond the one-time loss-of-signal event. In this study, a passive, person-overboard sensing concept is proposed, and the focus is to demonstrate monitoring of seawater conditions. The passive sensor was designed by incorporating a temperature-responsive hydrogel with an auxetic star pattern unit cell geometry, which transforms from a two- to three-dimensional geometry when immersed in low temperature liquid. First, the passive sensor was formed by incorporating a temperature-responsive hydrogel at opposite ends of the star pattern. The time-dependent swelling and de-swelling behavior of the copolymer hydrogel was characterized to understand the mechanical strains induced after exposure to low temperature water. Second, the design of the star pattern geometry was optimized, and artificial imperfections in the form of notches were employed to allow shape transformation to take place at appropriate and minimal applied strains. The vision is that these shape morphing structures with integrated antennas can serve as passive sensors, which, when interrogated by a remote reader, can be used to monitor how long overboard sailors have been in a low-temperature open sea environment.

Current Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) are greatly limited by being able to operate in air only. Designing multimodal MAVs that can fly effectively, dive into the water and retake flight would enable applications of distributed water quality monitoring, search and rescue operations and underwater exploration. While some can land on water, no technologies are available that allow them to both dive and fly, due to dramatic design trade-offs that have to be solved for movement in both air and water and due to the absence of high-power propulsion systems that would allow a transition from underwater to air. In nature, several animals have evolved design solutions that enable them to successfully transition between water and air, and move in both media. Examples include flying fish, flying squid, diving birds and diving insects. In this paper, we review the biological literature on these multimodal animals and abstract their underlying design principles in the perspective of building a robotic equivalent, the Aquatic Micro Air Vehicle (AquaMAV). Building on the inspire–abstract–implement bioinspired design paradigm, we identify key adaptations from nature and designs from robotics. Based on this evaluation we propose key design principles for the design of successful aerial–aquatic robots, i.e. using a plunge diving strategy for water entry, folding wings for diving efficiency, water jet propulsion for water takeoff and hydrophobic surfaces for water shedding and dry flight. Further, we demonstrate the feasibility of the water jet propulsion by building a proof-of-concept water jet propulsion mechanism with a mass of 2.6 g that can propel itself up to 4.8 m high, corresponding to 72 times its size. This propulsion mechanism can be used for AquaMAV but also for other robotic applications where high-power density is of use, such as for jumping and swimming robots.

Developing hybrid aerial-aquatic vehicles that can interact with water surfaces while remaining aloft is valuable for various tasks, including ecological monitoring, water quality sampling, and search and rescue operations. Storm petrels are a group of pelagic seabirds that exhibit a unique locomotion pattern known as ‘pattering’ or ‘sea-anchoring,’ which is hypothesized to support forward locomotion and/or stationary posture at the water surface. In this study, we use morphological measurements of three storm petrel species and aero/hydrodynamic models to develop a computational storm petrel model and interact it with a hybrid fluid environment. Using deep reinforcement learning algorithms, we find that the storm petrel model exhibits high maneuverability and stability under a wide range of constant wind velocities after training. We also verify in the simulation that the storm petrel can use its ‘pattering’ or ‘sea-anchoring’ behavior to achieve different biomechanical sub-tasks (e.g. weight support, forward locomotion, stabilization) and adapt it under different wind speeds and optimization objectives. Specifically, we observe an adjustment in storm petrel’s movement patterns as wind velocity increases and quantitively analyze its biomechanics underneath. Our results provide new insights into how storm petrels achieve efficient locomotion and dynamic stability at the air–water interface and adapt their behaviors to different wind velocities and tasks in open environments. Ultimately, our study will guide the design of next-generation biomimetic petrel-inspired robots for tasks requiring proximity to the water interface and efficiency.

Extreme daily rainfall events are critical for the urban drainage system, human life, agriculture and small catchments. The information about extreme rainfall magnitudes and frequencies is immensely important for civil engineers, city planners, scientists related to water management, rescue operations and flood control works. This study illustrates the results of regional frequency analysis (RFA) of annual maximum daily rainfall (AMDR) of Skåne County, Sweden. L‐moments based heterogeneity measure (H) reveals that the Skåne County is a homogeneous region. Based on the L‐moment ratio diagram andZDiststatistic results, the generalized normal (GNO) distribution is selected as the most suitable regional distribution. The accuracy measures used in K‐fold cross validation indicate that support vector machine (SVM) model is an appropriate model to find the index rainfall at ungauged sites in the region. The sites characteristics, elevation and latitude are identified as the most important variables to explain the variation in mean annual maximum daily rainfall (MAMDR). Finally, spatial maps of predicted MAMDR for different return periods are constructed by using index rainfall combined with regional quantiles. Spatial maps offer an overall view of the expected MAMDR in the region that is helpful for multiple decision makers including infrastructure planners, city planners, emergency managers, engineers and many others.

Administrative law beyond the state knows a vast participation of private parties in its mechanisms both for rulemaking and for implementation. One of the major private implementation mechanisms used by Global and European administrative law is the certification and accreditation system. In this respect, the climate change regime is of one the fields of reference. On the global level, the Kyoto Protocol makes reference to the certification system. Not only the approval of projects but also the verification of emission reductions of greenhouse gases is being carried out by private companies instead of either national administrations or the global administration itself. The EU law, partly forced by the global level, introduces the certification system in order to guarantee for cost efficiency and accuracy of the emission reductions of greenhouse gases. The Global and European Administrative Law are partly implemented by a common administrative private structure: very often a single body verifies the compliance with the two kinds of obligations. After describing the two systems, the chapter discusses the features of this kind of administration and draws lessons from these legal tools for the elaboration of a common legitimacy model for administrative law beyond the state.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is an alkaloid present in Cannabis sativa, along with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and more than 100 other substances belonging to a group of compounds called cannabinoids. Whereas the legal status and medical use of Cannabis is a controversial issue in many countries, inconsistent legislation makes CBD status even more complicated. Some CBD products are legal in some countries, while banned in other countries, further compounding the confusion. In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first CBD containing medical product, Epidiolex®, for the treatment of paediatric seizures. Currently, several clinical trials are in progress for the potential treatment of neurologic and behavioural disorders. CBD's current legal and regulatory status is a continuously evolving issue; the current review is presenting historical and present information regarding the use of CBD products worldwide.