MRA Mapping Hangout #2

Below is the 2nd MRA Mapping Hangout recording (there was an audio issue during the first 9 minutes so it is being clipped out). George Durkee and Eric Menendez presented "Understanding and Evaluating GPS Derived Data from Cell Phones and other Gizmos". 

This was a treasure chest of valuable information on the topic, I hope you enjoy it and please post comments below. 

Here are some resources from the presentation. 

• Cell Phone GPS Tool - www.gps.asrc.net 

This web app provides the ability to prompt a recipient to share his/her location via a text message sent to his/her mobile phone containing a URL link. By tapping the link, the recipient permits the phone to send its current location as determined by the location services enabled on the device.

• USNG App - http://usngapp.org/ 
• Operational Guide to Cell Phones - https://goo.gl/bJvIDt

Follow the MRA Mapping G+ page for updates on the next event!

Webinar: Mission Reporting and Search and Rescue Mapping for the MRA

Thanks to Pigeon Mountain Industries (PMI), Jon Pedder and I were able to brief the WiSAR Community on how the Mountain Rescue Association is using GIS to record mission data and we also discussed possibilities for how GIS could be used in the future. 

Here is the link to the PMI recording: http://pmirope.com/media/2014/12/02/mra-webinar-series-mission-reporting-and-search-and-rescue-mapping-for-the-mra/ 

"The Mountain Rescue Association has access to a mapping system called ArcGIS Online http://msar.maps.arcgis.com/home/ and it has been configured for the MRA Mission Reporting initiative. We will cover how this is being used for mission reporting and how it could be used to support operations, especially missing person search operations. The presenters, Paul Doherty and Jon Pedder, are both members of the Esri Disaster Response Program. Paul Doherty, PhD is the Technical Lead for the Program. He has 4-years with Yosemite Search and Rescue, and is also an active researcher who focuses on the use Geographic Information Systems for Search and Rescue. Jon Pedder is the newest member of the Esri Disaster Response Program and has 9-years volunteering with the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team." 

Here are some training videos created for the MRA Members.

MapSAR, the movie!

Well, not really a movie. 

Today, Jon Pedder came down to Esri to start putting together short video clip tutorials for how to use MapSAR. He is breaking it down to short topics like "how to add base data to the map" or "how to plot a clue". We hope this will be a great series of videos to help you get started with MapSAR, help us provide updates to the training material, and engage the greater Public Safety GIS community. 

Stay tuned for how these videos will be released online and details regarding an online kick-off event with live Q&A.

Yosemite Search in 2008

11-10 to 11-12-08 - Major Search for Missing Backpacker
A solo backpacker became stranded for twelve days in a remote area of the Yosemite high country, snowed in by a signifcant winter storm. With a search area of 400 square miles, YOSAR ground, air, and investigative personnel tried to locate the starving backpacker. For more on the full story go to http://yosemiteblog.com/2009/08/24/survive-lost-in-the-snow/

Video provided by Tom Patterson, Esri Public Safety Team. www.mapsar.net