The environmental awareness component 501, which can be implemented by the environmental data processing engine 411, enables a comprehensive understanding of the environment in which a person or object is, by collecting data from various sensors and other devices (e.g., the packs 22 1 . . . 22 N, 26 1 . . . 26 R, 24 1 . . . 24 P), bringing this data to a point where data reduction can be applied,