On 29 – 31 October 2024, the KIOS CoE successfully organized the 4th Exchange of Experts training program on the use of AI tools in Emergency Management. The training program took place at the University of Cyprus campus and was supported by the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism.
The program brought together 9 civil protection experts from 8 EU and associated States (Bosnia, Finland, Italy, Latvia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Romania) and 23 first responders from Cyprus (Cyprus Civil Defence, Cyprus Police, Forestry Department), fostering knowledge exchange and strengthening collaboration in the field of emergency response.
The 3-day training consisted of two parts:
- Training sessions aimed at introducing and explaining AI tools, providing an overview of promising AI technological solutions tailored to emergency management needs. Presentation topics included computer vision, robotics and decision-support systems as well as data collection and analysis procedures. In addition, regulatory aspects related to RPAS operations, AI Act, and GDPR were covered.
- A field exercise – ICARUS – was carried out to demonstrate how AI tools enhance situational awareness and decision-support capabilities of first responders during emergency response. The exercise was organized by the Cyprus Civil Defence and took place at Korakou village. The exercise considered the evacuation and search-and-rescue operations on the onset of a fire outbreak. Participants observed firsthand how AI-driven tools enable more efficient coordination by collecting and analyzing data from heterogeneous drone swarms, enhancing the effectiveness of situational awareness and decision-making in fast evolving scenarios.
The Exchange of Experts training program by the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism aims to enhance prevention, preparedness and disaster response by improving the operational capabilities of civil protection and emergency management personnel.
This training activity highlights KIOS’ expertise in developing emergence response technologies with immediate application in the field to aid first responders address dynamically evolving disasters and make them more capable at saving lives.
