Information integration for public safety officers

Abstract

Information enabled by technology is used to support good decision-making in the public safety arena. In the information age, the current implementation includes the installation of laptop computers and other mobile computing technology into mobile environments including ambulances, fire vehicles and police cruisers. Typically, these computing devices are equipped with various multi-purpose and custom software applications to replicate the public safety officers' headquarters work environment. In our analysis, we have found that there are large amounts of publiclyavailable datasets that are not available to the public safety officer in the field, but if made available in a real-time environment, could greatly assist the decision-making tasks of the officer and increase the safety of the public entrusted to the officer's watch. Information delivery and integration in the public safety environment are key elements required to maximize data support of public safety. Utilizing aspects of requirements engineering, we propose and develop a variety of applications that allow public safety officials to synthesize and interact with real-time data in the field. Information integration used to locate a topographic area map, satellite image, or immediate alert of the prevailing weather conditions assist in the timely decision-making process, especially in areas where such data is not available in the field. Public and private data sources are delivered according to agency protocols. Our environment takes advantage of the existing Project54 application and hardware, developed at the University of New Hampshire, as well as existing datacasting technology and other wireless mobile communications technologies.