With support from the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme, FPS expanded the functionality of their platform FPS Operate, a real‑time, AI‑driven decision support tool for dispatchers managing electric vehicles (EVs) in emergency services. The feasibility study validated a prototype platform that integrates live state‑of‑charge monitoring, incident energy forecasting and optimised charge‑stop planning. This was initially developed for commercial EV fleets, but there has since been successful early engagement from Police, Fire & Rescue, and Ambulance Service stakeholders. The project was supported by Cenex, a research and consultancy organisation that led on stakeholder engagement.

The challenge

Emergency service control rooms are under constant pressure to dispatch the right assets quickly and reliably, but current dispatch workflows are designed for traditional combustion engines fleets. Electric vehicles fleets also have different constraints from both civilian EV routing and traditional emergency triage tools. Dispatchers need to account for state‑of‑charge limitations and limited availability of charge infrastructure during shifts, all of which will require significant additional manual judgement on top of an already demanding role.

A 2025 Unison report found more than a quarter of NHS ambulance control room staff quit their jobs in the past three years. This high staff turnover impacts patients through longer wait times and delayed assessment of their emergency. Automating key elements of this system could meaningfully reduce this burden and improve the service for control room staff and callers.

The solution

To tackle this issue, FPS developed FPS Operate, a platform using AI to optimise dispatcher workflows. Emergency EV services are rapidly developing, with fleet deployments and charge infrastructure growing in parallel. This is generating high volumes of operational data on incident patterns, energy consumption, and routing behaviour that can be used to train effective AI models. At the same time, deep learning has reached the maturity required to handle complex, real-time optimisation in high-stakes environments.

With funding from the BridgeAI programme, FPS developed a test environment and benchmarking models to provide a ‘whole system’ solution. This integrates and operationalises charge points, vehicles, building energy management and logistics software systems into a unified platform. It provides tactical decision support, reducing dispatcher cognitive load while retaining human authority.

FPS Operate draws on accumulated historical data to power robust forecasting and intelligent optimisation, translating charge infrastructure constraints into dynamic, viable routing options. The system monitors vehicle energy levels to determine which units can realistically respond to call-outs, and applies AI to charge-stop planning, strategically determining when, where, and for how long an EV should recharge, to minimise downtime and prevent battery depletion.

Cenex led extensive stakeholder engagement to ensure the tool is operationally fit for emergency services. This involved identifying what dispatchers would need from an emergency-dispatch AI tool and designing trials to safely and usefully test prototypes.

The impact

This project demonstrated the feasibility of AI-driven optimisation for emergency EV fleets. Through close collaboration with emergency services, FPS secured a police partner for a pending live demonstration, engaged two additional emergency services and established partnerships with telematics and dispatch vendors.

The model is expected to reduce manual dispatch planning time and enable more efficient control‑room operations. This will utilise EV fleets more efficiently while establishing a human‑in‑the‑loop model that balances safety, trust, and automation.

The future

The next steps for the project involve strengthening vendor collaborations to accelerate a full commercial rollout. FPS plans to expand AI modules within their EV fleet management systems and engage all three emergency services. It will then look to scale optimisation tools across additional EV‑reliant public‑service contexts such as waste collection, school bus services and road repair vehicles.

Electric vehicles and their charging requirements have the potential to make the already difficult job despatchers must do impossible because of increased complexity. The extension of our FPS Operate platform to this challenging use case simplifies decision making. This would not have been possible without targeted BridgeAI support.

– Michael Ayres, Managing Director, FPS