The PhD will be based in the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and will be supervised by Dr Salem Aljareh.

According to recent statistics released by the UK’s Home Office In the year ending June 2025, England's “Fire and Rescue Services 628,764 incidents in the year ending June 2025, an increase of 5.7% compared with the previous year (594,836). Of these incidents, there were 165,697 fires, which was an increase of 28% compared with the previous year (129,638). In an era where rapid and precise emergency response is paramount, the Enhancing Emergency Response with Indoor Tracking and Localisation project at the University of Portsmouth embarks on a mission to revolutionise indoor navigation and tracking for first responders, aligning with the University of Portsmouth's dedication to research that addresses real-world challenges.

The project addresses a critical need in a wide range of emergency response scenarios. Whether it's firefighters rushing into a burning building, paramedics navigating through crowded spaces, or law enforcement officers responding to security breaches, every second counts. This project aims to tailor recent advances in indoor navigation technology to enable emergency responders to better navigate indoor environments with speed and precision reducing incident response times.

Traditional GPS systems are excellent for outdoor navigation but fall short when responders enter buildings, where satellite signals are significantly weaker. Our approach is multidimensional, focusing on the integration of multiple sensor technologies. We can leverage Wi-Fi, RFID and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to create a comprehensive indoor positioning system suitable for such scenarios and use cases. This fusion of technologies enables precise tracking even in scenarios with limited visibility, such as smoke-filled buildings.

The project will investigate cutting-edge tracking and locating technologies to propose a comprehensive indoor navigation system that can be easily deployed for emergency services, providing active, real-time navigation to the incident location and tracking of other team members and their whereabouts.

The work on this project will:

• Investigate the most suitable indoor tracking technologies and techniques to achieve robust and precise indoor localisation, even in challenging conditions.
• Designing algorithms and systems to provide real-time navigation assistance to first responders during emergency situations, enabling them to reach their destinations rapidly and track other team members efficiently.
• Design the system while considering compatibility and seamless integration with existing emergency response infrastructure, allowing for rapid deployment and widespread adoption.
• Highlight how work carried out in this project directly contributes to saving lives by improving the precision and speed of indoor navigation for first responders during critical situations.

The PhD will be based in the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and will be supervised by Dr Salem Aljareh.

According to recent statistics released by the UK’s Home Office In the year ending June 2025, England's “Fire and Rescue Services 628,764 incidents in the year ending June 2025, an increase of 5.7% compared with the previous year (594,836). Of these incidents, there were 165,697 fires, which was an increase of 28% compared with the previous year (129,638). In an era where rapid and precise emergency response is paramount, the Enhancing Emergency Response with Indoor Tracking and Localisation project at the University of Portsmouth embarks on a mission to revolutionise indoor navigation and tracking for first responders, aligning with the University of Portsmouth's dedication to research that addresses real-world challenges.

The project addresses a critical need in a wide range of emergency response scenarios. Whether it's firefighters rushing into a burning building, paramedics navigating through crowded spaces, or law enforcement officers responding to security breaches, every second counts. This project aims to tailor recent advances in indoor navigation technology to enable emergency responders to better navigate indoor environments with speed and precision reducing incident response times.

Traditional GPS systems are excellent for outdoor navigation but fall short when responders enter buildings, where satellite signals are significantly weaker. Our approach is multidimensional, focusing on the integration of multiple sensor technologies. We can leverage Wi-Fi, RFID and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to create a comprehensive indoor positioning system suitable for such scenarios and use cases. This fusion of technologies enables precise tracking even in scenarios with limited visibility, such as smoke-filled buildings.

The project will investigate cutting-edge tracking and locating technologies to propose a comprehensive indoor navigation system that can be easily deployed for emergency services, providing active, real-time navigation to the incident location and tracking of other team members and their whereabouts.

The work on this project will:

• Investigate the most suitable indoor tracking technologies and techniques to achieve robust and precise indoor localisation, even in challenging conditions.
• Designing algorithms and systems to provide real-time navigation assistance to first responders during emergency situations, enabling them to reach their destinations rapidly and track other team members efficiently.
• Design the system while considering compatibility and seamless integration with existing emergency response infrastructure, allowing for rapid deployment and widespread adoption.
• Highlight how work carried out in this project directly contributes to saving lives by improving the precision and speed of indoor navigation for first responders during critical situations.