Interoperability of mobile devices for crisis management

The report "Interoperability of mobile devices for crisis management", provides the results of a 2012 EU workshop and a successful field  experiment in mapping using mobile devices.

In general, the experiment was a success: all data feeds reached the eOSOCC, all teams left on time, and
there were no major problems during the field exercise. Devices were able to use either GPRS/3G or were
able to utilize the available WiFi network hotspots on site to transfer their data.
The final map with all incoming feeds in the eOSOCC was very cluttered due the great number of devices,
field teams, and different systems. The eOSOCC team leaders reported that there was considerable
information overload. As much as 328 entities of information (placemarks, tracks, polygons, etc.) were
simultaneously streamed to the eOSOCC. Therefore sophisticated editing, filtering, and visualization
functionalities (e.g., multiple views) have to be available for OSOCC staff.
6By the time the first teams arrived back from the field, most information had been processed and was
available on a summarized situation map. The eOSOCC team then converted the available information in a
priority list and action items. After each team leader was consulted to confirm and correct information, the
eOSOCC was ready for presentation, including an electronic map and action documents.
The pOSOCC leaders used the A0 map they produced for presentation and they had an overview of the
priorities which they marked also with post-it notes. They did not prepare any documents in writing to be
shared or communicated.
Both paper and electronic OSOCC reached similar situation awareness. The final map based briefing
material is almost identical with very few exceptions. Interestingly both OSOCC teams made mistakes with
regard to the exact positions. The mistakes of the eOSOCC team made in transferring accurate data to the
briefing material underline the need for an OSOCC software suite covering the whole workflow of
procedures essential in OSOCC operations.
The outcomes showed that both paper and electronic OSOCCs reached a similar situation awareness in the
same time, identifying similar needs and locations for prioritization, but only the eOSOCC had products
available as sharable electronic maps and documents. The pOSOCC would need at least 30 minutes to come
to the same result. The other advantage of the eOSOCC was the possibility to monitor a situation changing
over time and the possibility to keep track of the situation (awareness) evolution....

From  Interoperability of mobile devices for crisis management", Outcomes of the 1st JRC ECML Crisis Technology Workshop on Mobile Interoperability for International Field Deployment, by Markus Rester, Tom De Groeve, Alessandro Annunziato, Daniele Galliano, Andreas Hirner, Luca Vernaccini, Stefano Paris , European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, 12-13 March 2012