Monday, August 11, 2014

2014 SAR Special Interest Group Meeting



This is just a quick recap of items discussed at our Search and Rescue Special Interest Group Meeting at the 2014 Esri International User Conference in July. 


  • An update on MapSAR / GISCorps pilot project. There was a lot of interest and it sounds like it is time to expand beyond California!
  • An update from Caroline Rose on her MS Project. She is looking to interview more SAR personnel on the types of mapping solutions they currently use so we can design better solutions in the future (ie "MapSAR 3.0"). 
  • Karyn Tareen spoke about  opportunities to collaborate and learn from other workflows eg USAR, Damage Assessment. She and her GeoCove team have already pioneered some  new workflows.
  • Robert Koester has secured funding to continue building out the ISRID Database
  • D4H has added support for the International Search and Rescue Incident Database and MapSAR!
  • A brief update on SARGIS6 East and West. There were a lot of similar themes discussed and everyone seemed very happy with the collaboration between the two locations. 
If you were there or have questions - please feel free to add comments!

Here is a map of attendees.





View larger map



1 comment:

  1. Hi all...

    Unfortunately I was unable to attend UC this year so I didn't get a chance to introduce my latest updates to IGT4SAR. Below is a short description of the updates with links for more details and examples.

    I have been sitting on these updates while I have been trying to finish up some documentation. I was finally able to spend some time completing some short write ups for the new updates so I am finally ready for their release. Here is the link to download the latest version of IGT4SAR (SAR map template for ArcGIS):

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17428269/MapSAR_Ex/MapSAR_Ex.zip

    You can also find IGT4SAR in github. I will be working to enhance the IGT4SAR interface within github to make this the main repository for IGT4SAR. So stay tuned.

    below is a short synopsis of the updates with a link to more detailed description:

    1) Creating New Incident - I made so updates to this tool that ask the user for optional Incident Information when the incident map is being created. This updates some of the dynamic domains within the IGT4SAR gdb permitting the ability for even quicker task generation during the initial phase of the incident.

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17428269/MapSAR_Ex/Documentation/IGT4SAR_Creating_New_Incident.pdf


    2) Cellphone Coverage Estimate - I added some enhancements to the cellphone analysis tools within IGT4SAR. Combined the ability to generate a cell sector and estimate coverage in a single tool

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17428269/MapSAR_Ex/Documentation/IGT4SAR_Cell_Coverage_Estimate.pdf


    3) Repeater Location Estimates - This one was inspired by a similar tool in MapSAR but I took a quite different approach. The IGT4SAR version of this tool uses a combination of Observer Points and Viewshed Analysis to approaximate optimal locations to place a broadcast antenna for repeater or other wireless device.

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17428269/MapSAR_Ex/Documentation/IGT4SAR_RepeaterLocations.pdf


    4) Aircraft Search Patterns - This tool generates five different pre-defined search patterns of for a piloted aircraft or UAV

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17428269/MapSAR_Ex/Documentation/IGT4SAR_Aircraft_Search_Patterns.pdf


    5) GIS Server Layers - although IGT4SAR was designed for full functionality off-line I realized I was not taking advantage of all the great on-line and freely available geospatial data being served up around the world. Let me know if you have others that I should consider adding to the list

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17428269/MapSAR_Ex/Documentation/IGT4SAR_GIS_Server_Layers.pdf


    And as a reminder, IGT4SAR has integrated Search Theory and Lost Person Behavior Models

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17428269/MapSAR_Ex/Documentation/IGT4SAR_SearchTheory_LPB.pdf



    I am working hard to try to improve the documentation...remember I am a volunteer just like many of you so it may take me a little while but I will get there. And of course I am always recruiting help...anyone want to help with documentation and beta testing?

    Please let me know if you have any questions or require any assistance. i am planning to update and add to the collection of IGT4SAR YouTube video soon:

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrWNjhnpNOiEAATDzNw3lFg


    cheers,
    Don Ferguson

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