Critical factors for emergency vehicle routing expert systems

A survey of professionals in the dispatching field was conducted to determine critical factors for the construction of an expert system knowledge base. The design goal is the Road Utilization Learning Expert System (RULES), an expert system that selects an appropriate path utilizing thought processes that the human expert would follow given various dynamic inputs and their expert knowledge. The survey results indicated that about 70% of police and fire chiefs nationwide would trust a computer with the task of dispatching their units, and that these respondents chose a computer system containing the knowledge of all human experts in the department as a method that elicits the greatest confidence and trust. In addition, may respondents expressed the need for verification of the suggested routes by human expert consultation. High degrees of relevance to the prediction of traffic flow were assigned to time of day, day of week, construction, and weather patterns. The validity of the results was verified by statistical analysis of responses to questions that had been designed for that purpose. We report on survey data critical to the design of the expert system and suggest that future emergency service dispatching systems requires expert computer assistance.