Earth Alert Emergency Management Solution Unveiled by NASA; Maryland Emergency Management Agency Participates in System Development as a Pilot for Other Crisis Management Organizations

Business Wire, Nov 13, 2002

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2002

NASA and 3e Technologies International (3eTI) have announced the availability and ongoing enhancement of the "Earth Alert Emergency Management Solution".

Earth Alert is a multi-faceted solution for Emergency Management (EM) Agencies / Organizations and First Responder communities. The Maryland Emergency Management Agency is consulting on the NASA-funded Earth Alert system's ongoing enhancement to provide additional value-added services.

MEMA's goal is to spearhead deployment of NASA's Earth Alert Emergency Management Solution so that other EM Agencies and Organizations can improve their efficiency and effectiveness in alerting, response, and relief for critical incidents.

The Earth Alert System is designed to help the EM Community save lives rapidly while meeting the challenges for: reduced manpower pools, resource monitoring, faster response, increased information sharing, increased operational commitments, as well as mobile Web-based information access.

"This unique solution provides emergency situation alerting either by location or by EM Agency user profile", said Fred Schamann, NASA Program Manager, "This means alerts are targeted and meaningful - they go out to the precise personnel who need to receive them. The alerts can be for weather situations, natural disasters, and man made emergencies."

Earth Alert supports text messaging between an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and field support personnel. With MEMA's assistance, tailored forms have been designed to assist First Responders in locating damaged areas for Emergency Managers who use Damage Assessment Forms for real-time reporting to the EOC.

Field information is transmitted to the EOC with precise GPS-based location information. The GPS latitude-longitude data enables First Responders and Emergency Management personnel to identify and locate areas for prompt damage assessment. The system's Damage Assessment Reports have latitude and longitude information automatically attached for instant map reference.

At MEMA's recommendation, all Earth Alert System information can be retrieved and accessed through the Internet. Incident and management reports can be generated, uploaded, accessed and downloaded. These system capabilities enable EM Agencies to implement a crisis management solution without incurring large infrastructure costs or the need for extensive training on device and system use.

Don Keldsen, Director of MEMA, commented "We are working with NASA and 3e Technologies International to ensure that Earth Alert continues to have all the capabilities needed to stay on top of a crisis event."

NASA's Earth Alert Solution performs two primary types of tracking. - Asset and Personnel. By installing a 3eTI tracking device into an asset (vehicle, stationary equipment, mobile care facility, etc.), an Emergency Manager can keep track of the asset via the Internet. They can "geo-fence" the vehicle's operation area and be notified when it moves.

Managers can receive alerts when the asset is being manipulated or tampered with, which provides theft security. When sensors are added to a 3eTI tracking device, the device can auto-activate and report critical incidents for various conditions. These capabilities provide for enhanced asset management, faster response time to critical incidents, and possible mitigation of situations before they escalate.

When equipped with the system's GPS-enabled wireless phones, the Earth Alert Solution will track EM Personnel or First Responders and route the closest individual to the event faster and more accurately.

Because Earth Alert is a Web-based solution, it is available to County and State Agencies to utilize without buying their own expensive call center infrastructure, networked computer servers, or special hardware for field deployment. The Earth Alert solution is low cost, easy to implement., and can be utilized on a contracted or usage -based arrangement.

The Earth Alert System will be demonstrated live at the upcoming "Northeast Regional Emergency Management Conference" to be held in Worcester, MA. on November 19 to 21, 2002.

About NASA:

The Earth Alert Emergency Management Solution (EAS) is a commercialization program effort at Goddard Space Flight Center. The project was developed in the Earth Sciences Directorate under the authority of the GSFC/FEMA Memorandum of Understanding, which calls for the transfer of NASA technology to aid the emergency management community.

The initial phases of the Earth Alert Project were funded by NASA/GSFC under the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Program.

Under this program 3e Technologies International, also known as AEPTEC Microsystems, in conjunction with GSFC/NASA, was able to develop an Earth Alert Data Center in Blairsville PA. and were able to demonstrate the value of displaying location specific information on handheld devices with embedded GPS and situation map displays.

The Earth Alert System utilizes commercial sector pager and cellular infrastructure. Since these initial developments 3eTI / AEPTEC Microsystems has been able to extend the system to include web based capabilities.