Shifting boundaries from preparedness to response: Using simulation of rescue robots in weather-induced emergencies

In early operational phases of severe weather events, a lack of information challenges emergency management teams to gain an overview of the situation and make informed decisions. To support situational exploration, unmanned aerial and ground vehicles attract increasing attention, primarily used to document operational sites. However, they offer further potential in early operational phases. To ensure their reliable use for exploration, decision-makers must be aware of opportunities and limitations under prevailing conditions. For this, use cases for robotic simulation in emergency response are presented, considering technical restrictions and dynamic influences from weather impacts. The approach of integrating rescue robot simulation into the response phase is developed following a five-step research design. Existing use cases of rescue robot simulation are identified in a systematic literature analysis. The results are extended with use cases developed for urban flooding scenarios. Subsequently, use cases are assessed and selected for implementation in the simulation environment Gazebo. Finally, the results are validated with end users in the EU research project CREXDATA, which focuses on decision support based on processing extreme data. The implemented use cases demonstrate the potential of robotic simulation in emergency response to accelerate action planning in decisionmaking and provide a more detailed picture, enabling betterinformed decisions.