Awarded a TFG that can save many lives

Raul Garcia Hemonnet

Noelia Fernández, an industrial engineer from the URJC, has been recognized with the prize for the best End of Degree Project by the IEEE Spain thanks to a project aimed at facilitating the work of emergency teams through the robot monitoring.

The system developed by this young engineer allows, among other aspects, to know multiple variables of a fire, through an autonomous agent controlled remotely. It enables the exact location of a fire, warn of the presence of toxic gases in the air or collect data on the damage to the structure of a building that is suffering from a fire. All this, before the fire department sets foot in the building, which allows them to intervene in safety conditions and draw up action plans that reduce intervention times.

“One of the advantages of this project is that we were able to work with the Alcorcón firefighters and find out what they most needed. To be able to help them with technology and be useful to them is to repay the favor that they do to the whole of society”, indicates Noelia Fernández, who adds that she “is very happy” with the recognition received.

Noelia did not expect to be awarded again for this work. Last March she received the award from the Official College of Industrial Technical Engineers of Madrid.

Noelia Fernández has just finished the first year of the Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering at URJC and is a researcher in the recently formed Smart E2 chair. The most imminent thing for her is the presentation of her project before the IEEE community, which can serve to grow her project by making it known to people in the industry, "it is about people who are interested in the project invest in it and thus be able to use technology with more benefits and improve processes”, indicates Noelia.

This young engineer from the URJC assures that she would love to dedicate herself to research by participating in projects that provide solutions to society's problems, from technological innovation.

Awards that demonstrate the level of the URJC

For Cristina Rodríguez Sánchez, tutor of the TFG and professor of the Electronic Technology area, the fact that this work has been awarded now and a few months ago, "means that the students we have trained in the industrial degree and within the framework of the project ( Research platform for the support, guidance and monitoring of services aimed at prevention, risk control and indoor evacuation) are prepared to offer solutions to society”. Rodríguez indicates that the project in which Noelia Fernández's TFG has been developed is in line with the European strategy for security and emergency response.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the world's largest technical professional organization, bringing together more than 420.000 engineers, scientists, technologists, and professionals in more than 160 countries, who are dedicated to advancing in technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. Its Spanish chapter is dedicated to the development and use of electrical and electronic instruments and equipment to measure, monitor and/or record physical phenomena.