The FFG KIRAS project “AI Control Center” aimed to provide AI-based automation for telephone communication processes in healthcare. The focus was on maintaining critical infrastructure and significantly relieving control center staff, especially during peak loads in crisis and disaster situations.
The demands on modern rescue organizations are constantly growing, while personnel resources often reach their limits. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) increases safety, reliability, and speed in operations. The automation of administrative routine tasks allows experts in the control center to concentrate on safety-critical, complex situations and final decision-making with less stress and more focus.
Technological Basis and Application Areas
Within the scope of the project, the existing ONDEWO Call Center AI Platform (CCAI) was configured and seamlessly connected to the relevant telephone and IT systems of Johanniter Austria. Three essential application areas were realized, covering the entire process from incoming to outgoing calls:
- AI Mediation (Classification & Prioritization): To minimize waiting loops, the AI recognizes concerns immediately upon first contact. Emergencies are instantly identified and prioritized for forwarding to the responsible departments, which decisively shortens the reaction time.
- AI Patient Transport: Routine tasks such as booking or canceling patient transports tie up enormous time capacities. Through the use of #ONDEWO Agentic AI, these processes are now handled securely and fully automated – including direct data transfer to the deployment control system.
- AI Alert Chain: Every second counts during major events. Instead of tedious, manual phone chains, the AI informs hundreds of emergency personnel simultaneously in natural language and simultaneously records their operational readiness, which massively accelerates the entire rescue chain.
Technology in Service of People (Human-in-the-Loop)
A core aspect of the industrial research was the naturalness and stability of communication. ONDEWO’s language processing was optimized to remain stable even under extreme stress and with loud background noise. The “Human-in-the-Loop” principle was always paramount: The technology does not replace people but strengthens existing resources and acts as a reliable partner so that people and technology work hand in hand for the benefit of the population.
A Signal for the Future of Emergency Services Organizations
The successful evaluation shows that an AI-based control center possesses enormous scaling potential. The system was designed so that it can also provide valuable services for other organizations such as the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund or the Red Cross, as well as for other emergency services organizations (fire department, police).
Due to the excellent, collaborative partnership with Johanniter Austria and the valuable feedback from operational practice, we are pleased with the particularly successful completion of this complex undertaking. Special thanks go to the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), which made this project possible within the framework of the security research funding program KIRAS.
The “AI Control Center” project is financed within the framework of the security research funding program KIRAS/K-PASS by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Together, we secure the operational capability of the rescue forces and the protection of the population – for a modern control center structure that is scalable, secure, and consistently future-oriented.
For detailed results, please visit the official FFG project database here.
