Individual status assessment using wireless body area networks

This report is the result of the second year of the FoT-project Time- /Resource Critical Command and Control with Monitoring of Status of Individuals (TRIS). The purpose of the project is to determine the possibility of developing a system concept for a decision support system for monitoring status of individuals. The monitoring will be accomplished by collection of physiological- and psycho physiological data in combination with different forms of contextual information. The system will collect, compute, fuse and visualize this information to support the decision makers' decision process. The project is contributing to the development of a test- and demonstration system in cooperation with other organizations. One component of TRIS is the so-called wireless body area network (WBAN) allowing data from sensors worn by the individual to be wirelessly transmitted to different levels of command and control centers. An ambition of TRIS is that the WBAN system concept shall be flexible and that the information collection shall be adaptable to accommodate for different users needs and roles. Initial evaluation of the WBAN has concentrated on variables to be collected, aspects on data transfer, and methods of communication. Suggestions of improvements have been identified in various areas. One important aspect is adaptivity in data communication in order to increase energy efficiency.