The government will develop a smartwatch dedicated to the disaster safety communications network to reduce the equipment burden on responders at disaster sites and to quickly deliver key communications.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety selected the development of a smartwatch linked to the disaster safety communications network and an AI radio summary and alert system as a new task under the Emergency Response Research for Safety in Daily Life programme and will solicit research organisations, they said on Sunday.

Currently, responders at disaster sites, including police, firefighters and local government officials, must carry and operate a disaster safety communications network terminal, a radio and a personal mobile phone. When an accident occurs, communications can become concentrated, making it difficult to accurately grasp key information or instructions.

Through the task, the government plans to develop a smartwatch linked to the disaster safety communications network and to build a system in which AI analyses and summarises communications and notifies users of key information. It will also include functions to monitor a user's heart rate, skin temperature and location.

The government expects that once the smartwatch is applied in the field, it can reduce responders' equipment burden while also supporting real-time situation and mission awareness.

The task was selected last among 11 tasks under the Emergency Response Research for Safety in Daily Life programme being 추진 this year. Tasks have already been selected to develop technologies to respond to wildfires, ground subsidence, maritime accidents, heavy snow and floods.

The solicitation for research organisations will run through Sept. 7. The selected organisation will receive about 900 million won in research and development funding over 2 years from the two ministries.

Kim Sung-soo (김성수), head of the R&D Policy Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "We will apply AI and wearable device technologies to the disaster safety field to build safety infrastructure that can be felt on the ground."