First Responders' Perceptions of Semantic Information for Situational Awareness in Robot-Assisted Emergency Response

This study investigates First Responders' (FRs) attitudes toward the use of semantic information and Situational Awareness (SA) in robotic systems during emergency operations. A structured questionnaire was administered to 22 FRs across eight countries, capturing their demographic profiles, general attitudes toward robots, and experiences with semantics-enhanced SA. Results show that most FRs expressed positive attitudes toward robots, and rated the usefulness of semantic information for building SA at an average of 3.6 out of 5. Semantic information was also valued for its role in predicting unforeseen emergencies (mean 3.9). Participants reported requiring an average of 74.6\% accuracy to trust semantic outputs and 67.8\% for them to be considered useful, revealing a willingness to use imperfect but informative AI support tools. To the best of our knowledge, this study offers novel insights by being one of the first to directly survey FRs on semantic-based SA in a cross-national context. It reveals the types of semantic information most valued in the field, such as object identity, spatial relationships, and risk context-and connects these preferences to the respondents' roles, experience, and education levels. The findings also expose a critical gap between lab-based robotics capabilities and the realities of field deployment, highlighting the need for more meaningful collaboration between FRs and robotics researchers. These insights contribute to the development of more user-aligned and situationally aware robotic systems for emergency response.