Ambulances in Sweden can now hijack in-car radios

Developed by three students at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the EVAM System uses FM radio to alert drivers to approaching emergency vehicles.

One of the improvements being made vehicle technology includes better soundproofing, which also makes it more difficult for drivers to hear approaching sirens. Now three students at Sweden’s Kungl Tekniska Högskolan (KTH) Royal Institute of Technology have developed the EVAM System, helping emergency service vehicles hijack in-car radios to alert distant cars that an emergency vehicle is approaching. As long as the radio in the car is turned on, the EVAM System will work, regardless of what the driver is listening to – CD, radio or Bluetooth.

The EVAM System works by sending a voice message from the ambulance to vehicles ahead. The message interrupts whatever is playing on the car’s audio system, and a corresponding text message appears on the dashboard tuner display. Designed to transmit at different times depending on the speed of traffic, alerts are sent out earlier in fast moving highway traffic than in slow moving city streets. The system is due to begin road tests in Stockholm in the first half of 2017 with a limited number of emergency vehicles.

Technology is helping to make emergency care provision swifter and more sustainable in a variety of ways. In healthcare, predictive sensors help prevent heart failure, and for climate change refugees, disaster shelters provide self-sufficient, sustainable temporary homes. How else could communities use new products, designs and materials to improve emergency care?