The National Fire Agency and the Ministry of Science and ICT said on the 23rd they will apply a "precision location measurement technology" that can identify a caller's position more accurately in emergency rescue situations to fire scenes in the Daejeon area for the first time.
Until now, responders tracked the location of the person to be rescued using base stations or GPS. The problem is that in super high-rise buildings, it is difficult to confirm the exact location and floor.
In response, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) built an integrated platform in May this year to apply the precision location measurement technology in the field. The precision location measurement technology comprehensively uses information such as base stations, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and barometric pressure to reduce the location error from about 30 meters to around 15 meters. It also provides height information inside buildings, allowing responders to determine the floor where the person to be rescued is located.
The National Fire Agency will conduct a technology demonstration at rescue sites in the Daejeon area and, based on the results, consider applying the precision location measurement technology to the next-generation 119 Integrated System.
The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) is also developing technology through the end of 2027 that additionally uses base station distance and direction information from fifth-generation mobile communications (5G) and information from various global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).
Kim Sang-hyeon, director general for equipment technology at the National Fire Agency, said, "We plan to conduct a demonstration of the precision location measurement technology centered on the Daejeon area for now, and we will expand its application to other regions in the future."