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BBK congress on civil protection: LOEWE-emergenCITY on site with vulnerability study and smart home warning systems

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© Jürgen Schreiter
In the smart home “eHUB”, emergenCITY scientists are investigating what contribution smart homes can make to warning the population in the event of disasters

Darmstadt researchers from the LOEWE center emergenCITY present their research findings on social vulnerability in urban districts and the potential of smart homes as warning systems at the BBK Congress on “Research for Civil Protection” in Bonn. The congress will bring together over 800 scientists from February 5 to 7 to discuss the latest developments in civil protection.

A vulnerability study by historian Dr. Nadja Thiessen and architect Dr.-Ing. Joachim Schulze, with the support of Professor Jean-Christophe Dissart from the Université Grenoble Alpes, looks at how social vulnerability has developed in Darmstadt over a period of 60 years. People with health restrictions, older people or socially isolated groups are particularly vulnerable in crisis situations and dependent on support. The researchers used statistical data to analyze factors such as age, household structure and income in the city's 37 statistical districts. Their results show that social vulnerability in certain neighborhoods has remained constant over decades.They developed a city map that makes these patterns visible and thus provides a basis for more targeted disaster control measures. Based on these findings, emergency services could distribute their resources more efficiently and provide targeted support to particularly vulnerable neighborhoods. The study was presented to the public for the first time at the congress on February 5, 2025.

Another LOEWE-emergenCITY research topic is the role of smart homes in warning the population in critical situations. Computer scientists Markus Henkel and Frank Hessel investigated the dangerous situations in which people are prepared to leave safety-related decisions to their smart home. Their studies were carried out in the “eHUB”, an energy self-sufficient smart home on the TU Darmstadt campus. They simulated four different hazard scenarios and analyzed the reactions of the residents. The results show that people are more likely to accept automatic protective measures, such as the automatic closing of windows or doors, if the danger is considered to be high. While conventional warning systems such as smoke detectors merely sound the alarm, networked smart home technologies offer the potential to actively respond to threats and thus increase security in crisis situations.

The research conducted by the LOEWE center emergenCITY makes an important contribution to the further development of civil protection by looking at both social and technological aspects. The findings on social vulnerability could help to make rescue measures more efficient, while intelligent smart home systems offer new possibilities for automated protective measures in crisis situations.

More information about the congress: www.fkfb.de