RoboCup Rescue simulation: Methodologies tools and evaluation for practical applications

The activities of search and rescue of victims in large-scale disasters are not only highly relevant social Problems, but pose several challenges from a scientific standpoint. In this context, the RoboCup-Rescue project focused on the problems of bringing aids immediately after a large disaster, and aims at creating system based on AI and Robotics technologies, where heterogeneous agents (software, robots, human beings) interact in a cooperative manner. In this paper we present the achievements of a research project, based on the RoboCup Rescue simulator, carried out in Italy in collaboration with the Italian Fire Department. The overall project goal is to devise tools to allow monitoring and supporting decisions which are needed in a real-time rescue operation in a large scale disaster, and to provide a methodology for evaluation of multi-agent system which considers not only the efficiency of a system, but also its robustness when conditions in the environment change, as well as other features, such as the ability to acquire a precise and coherent representation of the disaster scenario.