System Addresses Communication Gap: Dallas First Responders Can Share Information With Other Agencies Via Voice, Video and Data With New Technology
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By Bryon Okada, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas  Sep. 15--DALLAS -- In a significant step toward developing a statewide system, law enforcement and government first responders in Dallas now have the ability to communicate via voice, video and data in the event of a catastrophic event.
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Police and firefighters need more accurate data on mobile callers. The FCC has some ideas--but fixes aren't cheap.
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Security vendors are trying to make it easier for emergency personnel to ID themselves at the scene of a disaster.
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To locate emergency calls made over mobile VoIP phones, company used several location-finding technologies, such as GPS, a technology that triangulates high-definition television signals and one that surveys local Wi-Fi access points.
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Providence, R.I., officials have unveiled a wireless mesh network that can provide police and fire personnel with quick access to city records.
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(InfoWorld) - On Wednesday, presenters at RFID World in Boston focused on using second-generation active and passive RFID tags to provide advanced security and authentication, as well as ways to broaden the reach of the technology. Among the buzz from attendees was how the average wireless device could soon become an RFID reader, or perhaps a related radio-capable device for Near Field Communication, a short-distance radio technology to give a mobile user easy access to all kinds of data. One attendee, Russ Lamer, said he was just starting early investigation into ways that fleet truck drivers could equip their standard cell phones to act as a kind of "speed pass" to quickly pay for fuel at a truck stop, similar to the Speedpass used at Mobil gas stations. Lamer, manager of emerging technologies at Wright Express in South Portland, Maine, said drivers might also have fuel discount coupons delivered wirelessly to their phones that could be used during fuel purchases. With some of the mobile payment technologies he is investigating, Lamer said the modern trucker may eventually be able to pay by authorizing a credit card via the cell phone. "It makes the most sense" for the cell phone to work as the RFID reader, Lamer said, adding that he is interested in finding which chips could be used to provide the functions and at what cost. Other attendees said they were dazzled by an MIT presentation last night that showed emerging technologies similar to RFID that would allow someone with diabetes to read his or her blood sugar level easily several times a day with a cell phone receiving data from a patch on the arm. Steven Georgevitch, senior manager of supply chain technology at Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems, said in an address that all the emerging wireless technologies are exciting, but warned IT managers to plan ways to prevent RF interference, especially in large companies with many wireless applications. At Boeing, there are 150,000 employees in 70 countries, and a variety of wireless technologies are used, including active and passive RFID, GPS, and two variations of wireless location services. Badges worn by employees also use proximity radio technology, in which an employee is identified by passing close to an RFID reader at entrances to buildings, Georgevitch said. With so much variety in unlicensed spectrum, Boeing has tried to manage possible RF interference with an internal organization called the Frequency Management Organization. The group studies a proposed wireless use from an employee group, conducts technical tests on it, and then approves or rejects the project, Georgevitch said. Boeing's chief technology officer also has veto rights over which projects can move forward. "RF should be treated as a scarce resource," Georgevitch advised IT managers in other organizations. "Everybody wants to use RF or plug into Bluetooth or 802.11. Collisions are inevitable."
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No matter what the disaster -- hurricane, earthquake, terrorist attack -- the nation's first responders get to the scene soon after. Which is why it's such a crime when these people can't communicate with each other.
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DALLAS SBC executives have a vision for the future. It combines voicemail, e-mail and incoming fax messages in one system that can be accessed on the Web or on the phone.
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Forensic Technology's system lets investigators analyze evidence over a network.
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Police departments around the country turn to sound-analysis technology to detect and report gunshots. By Amit Asaravala.
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SAN FRANCISCO  - Technology is proving crucial as Southern California residents fight raging wildfires. They're using text messages, video, blogs, Google maps and databases to describe the chaos, find missing people and share strategies.
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Students design mobile data-access system for health-care workers.
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By Oren Dorell  The same technology that keeps cellphone users in touch with their cellphone companies can also help locate people who are lost.
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University of Maryland researchers have proposed the creation of an online 911 system that people could use to report information during a disaster or to work together to save lives.
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This scenario is all too familiar to office workers who collaborate electronically on projects: E-mails get passed around with differing versions of documents-in-progress attached. Instant messages whizz by. Web sites are cited, then lost. It's often a jumbled mess, with no central online location for shared data. There must be a better way.
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Radar Networks is introducing Twine.com a service that uses semantic Web technology, sometimes called Web 3.0, to improve sharing information with friends and coworkers.
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While TV viewers and radio listeners have long suffered through ear-piercing emergency-alert tests, the system has had a spotty record in actual crises. That's why critics are leery of plans to expand the system to cell phones and PCs. By Randy Dotinga.