Stigmergy inspired approach to enable agent communication in emergency scenarios

Coordination is one of the main challenges in emergency management. Recent disasters demonstrated that there is a need for communication mechanisms which do not rely on centralized systems and infrastructure. This paper investigates alternative communication models in emergency scenarios and provides an implementation that enables communication between different actors (machine and human) through the environment. First, it analyses the dynamics of emergency scenarios with special focus on coordination and communication challenges. Multi-Agent systems are a promising solution for this type of situations and in this work are used in a theoretical framework for developing a bioinspired communication model. Following this approach, a proof of concept solution has been implemented, named the Alternative Communication Framework. This framework utilises a wide range of alternative media in order to facilitate an indirect, stigmergic, communication. Finally, the real life applicability of this model is evaluated with the use of a realistic scenario which was designed in order to demonstrate the core concepts involved in this work.