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<p>The rapid development of autonomous systems (AS), which are technological systems or processes that either support or replace human decision making, will have a significant impact on emergency medical services (EMS). EMS provider organizations must be prepared to not only interact with AS by having response protocols in place that provide responders with guidance in dealing with these systems during an emergency, but they must also be able to leverage this technology to improve the quality of public safety services. Effective leveraging of AS technologies will enable emergency medical responders to improve efficiency, reduce cost, and provide greater service to those in need. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats evaluation of the impact of not embracing AS reveals that weakness in efficiency and safety and threats from the emerging technology-based markets and the users of EMS will be high, that the number of opportunities to improve required emergency response and deliver expedient medical care will be diminished, and that strengths may be nonexistent. The thesis focuses on the analysis of what AS are, how they are used in the provision of EMS today, how they may be leveraged in EMS systems in the future, and which concerns are related to the use of these systems with regard to homeland security.
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<br>Subjects: EMS; emergency medical services; autonomous vehicles; connected vehicle technology; Internet of things; car-to-car technology; car-to-infrastructure technology</div>
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Davies, Josh A.</div>
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