Autonomic cooperative communications for emergency networks

A modern emergency network formed by First Responders is characterised by the need for urgent provision of a seamless, durable and uninterrupted information exchange in the area of incident. Such a requirement may by addressed by the incorporation of both the concept of cooperative communications and the rationale of autonomic system design. In particular, the cooperating Relay Nodes may be instantiated by Chief First Responders equipped with terminals capable of forming Virtual Antenna Arrays, while the whole system is expected to self-configure on the spot. This paper discusses these aspects jointly by investigating the mapping of autonomic cooperative communications onto an emergency network formed in an indoor scenario.