METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING TACTICAL INFORMATION DURING CRISIS SITUATIONS
A computer-based method and system for storing and retrieving tactical information pertaining to a site during crisis situations. The method and system provides a graphical user interface comprising a computer screen display and a selection device wherein a user may select from a plurality of options to receive desired tactical information pertaining to a particular site in a plurality of different data formats (e.g, text, graphic images, video, etc.).
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The present application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 11/542,949 filed on Oct. 3, 2006 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/190,230 filed on Jul. 3, 2002 which is a Non-Provisional application of 60/326,537 filed on Sep. 24, 2001, the entirety of which are incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF INVENTIONThe invention relates generally to retrieving tactical information during crisis situations. More particularly, the invention relates to a computer-based method and system for storing and retrieving tactical information to respond to crisis situations.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ARTSadly, in recent times, we have become all too familiar with crisis situations such as the Columbine High School shooting incident which left several people dead and many more injured. During that incident, when emergency personnel such as Police, Fire and SWAT personnel responded to the situation, these trained men and women faced many uncertainties that significantly added to the potentially life-threatening risks that they faced—uncertainties which adversely impacted their effectiveness in quickly and safely resolving the situation with minimal risk to civilians and themselves.
For example, during the initial response to the Columbine High School incident when police personnel approached the school premises, they were unaware of the safest, or, more significantly, the most dangerous, route to approach the school buildings and parking lots. For example, they were not aware of which areas were most vulnerable to attack by sniper gun fire while approaching a particular building. They were further unaware of key school personnel to contact, nor did they have access to their contact information. Furthermore, emergency personnel were unaware of building construction and structural information that would have assisted them to strategically plan entry into various building locations. These unknowns, and many others, greatly increased the risk to those individuals responding to the crisis.
As a particular example, when emergency rescue personnel finally entered the buildings, fire alarm sprinklers had flooded the interior rooms, an alarm strobe light was flickering, and an audio alarm was loudly sounding. As a result of these intense stimuli, some of the rescue team members who had prolonged exposure to this environment, suffered from vertigo, which adversely affected their perception and balance. Needless to say, this situation detrimentally affected their effectiveness and posed an otherwise unnecessary risk to these individuals. However, because emergency personnel did not know how to shut off the alarm systems, these strategically undesirable conditions persisted, making an already intensely stressful situation even more difficult.
In light of the exemplary difficulties and problems described above, there is a need for a method and system that can effectively provide critical tactical information to emergency personnel during crisis situations. Because such situations inherently involve high levels of stress and panic, it is desirable that such methods and systems be extremely “user friendly” and allow personnel to quickly and easily obtain a variety of different types of information that may be pertinent to address a particular situation or tactical plan.
SUMMARY OF INVENTIONThe invention addresses the above and other needs by providing a computer-based method and system for providing critical tactical information to emergency personnel during crisis situations.
In one embodiment of the invention, a system includes a computer (e.g., a personal computer) having a display screen for displaying text, graphic images and video pertaining to critical tactical information requested by a user. In another embodiment, the computer further includes a speaker system to provide audio information to the user. The computer may be a conventional computer known to those skilled in the art and includes, at a minimum, a central processing unit (CPU) for executing program instructions and processing stored data and user inputs, and appropriate memories for storing program instructions, data and user inputs (e.g., a hard drive, ROM, RAM, cache, buffers). In one embodiment, some or all of the program instructions and stored data may be stored on a, CD-ROM, wherein the computer includes a CD-ROM drive for reading the CD-ROM and providing instructions and data to the CPU. The computer further includes appropriate input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, etc.) for providing user inputs to the computer. Such computers are well-known in the art and need not be further described in detail herein.
In another embodiment, a method of the invention includes displaying at least two interactive windows wherein a first window contains indicia, icons or controls (e.g., html links), which enable a user to retrieve or view information in the second window (e.g., images, video, text). In a preferred embodiment, a first window is capable of displaying, among other things, a structural outline of building or campus walls. By using a “mouse,” for example, a user can click on a desired location in the first window to retrieve and view corresponding images or video in the second window.
In a further embodiment, images in the second window include 360-degree spherical images generated using known digital imaging technologies such as iPix™ and IBM Hot Media™ digital imaging, for example. However, it is understood that any other known digital imaging systems and techniques may be used in accordance with the invention. By using 360-degree spherical digital imaging technology, a user can virtually view every aspect of a room on the computer display screen, as if he or she were physically present in the room. In this embodiment, a viewer can “pan” up, down, right or left by dragging a mouse cursor in a desired direction. If the user desires to view the interior of another room, he or she can immediately “jump” to that room by clicking on an appropriate location link or icon in the first screen.
In another embodiment, as the user moves a cursor of a selection device (e.g., a “mouse” device) over certain objects in the room while navigating in the second screen, embedded text will automatically pop up providing critical information about that object. For example, when a mouse cursor pans over a door, a pop-up message may indicate, for example, where the door leads, the material and thickness of the door, which way it opens, and provide the user the option of proceeding through the door. As another example, if the mouse cursor passes over an electrical switch such as a main electrical power shut-off switch, a pop-up message will alert the user to this fact. Pop-up messages can be embedded in a similar fashion for any number of objects that may be of interest in a particular room, e.g., windows, ventilation ducts, ceilings, flooring, closets, electrical and plumbing details, etc.
In another embodiment, a third window is displayed on the computer screen which contains a menu of different types of information which can be displayed in either of the first or second windows, depending on the user's desires. This menu can include items such as geographic or street maps, aerial views, site or campus maps, critical information and telephone numbers, parking lot ingress video, floor diagrams of buildings, etc. In a preferred embodiment, the critical information includes information pertaining to school administrative personnel and their contact information, alarm company information, communications systems information, building construction information, emergency utility shut-off systems, etc.
As explained above, in one embodiment, the computer may execute program instruction and process data stored in a CD-ROM for one or more sites (e.g., Grandview Elementary School). However, it is contemplated that program instructions and data may be stored and retrieved in other desired formats. For example, it is contemplated that program instructions executed by the computer may be stored in the hard drive of the computer, and data to be retrieved and processed by the computer may be stored in a central database that may be accessed by the computer via conventional computer network communications links. Such links would include those utilized in local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), the global computer network (Internet or world wide web), including wireless communication techniques and protocols known in the art.
The invention is described in detail below with reference to the figures wherein like elements are referred to with like numerals throughout. Although the description below is provided in the context of critical tactical information for a school campus, it is readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the principles and techniques of the present invention may be applied in a variety of other types of venues, buildings, campuses or scenarios (collectively referred to herein as “sites”).
Emergency personnel frequently respond to the scene of incidents and threats with a minimal amount of information regarding the site. In order to overcome this lack of “intelligence,” the invention provides a computer-based method and system for quickly and easily accessing and viewing various types of tactical information that may be desired by emergency personnel.
In one preferred embodiment, a computer system includes a CD-ROM drive that accesses program instructions and/or data from a CD ROM to provide desired critical information in various formats (e.g., text, graphics, video) on a computer screen display. As emergency personnel receive an emergency dispatch, a CD ROM for a particular site they are approaching may be loaded into the CD-ROM drive of the computer. In a preferred embodiment, the computer may be an in-vehicle computer system of an emergency personnel carrier (e.g., police squad car or van) which allows emergency personnel to access critical information pertaining to the particular site during transit to the site. The computer system further includes a hard drive, read-only memory (ROM) and/or random access memory (RAM) for storing program instructions executed by the CPU of the computer system. The computer system provides a graphic user interface on the computer monitor that allows users to specify desired information as described in further detail below.
In one preferred embodiment, the desired information is stored in a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., CD ROM, hard drive, ROM, Flash memory, RAM, floppy disk, etc.) and retrieved by the CPU in accordance with user requests and displayed to the user. In a further embodiment, the computer system includes a transceiver and antenna, and other processors, hardware and software known in the art, for retrieving critical information desired by the user via wireless communication protocols and techniques known in the art. As would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, the actual hardware and software required for carrying out the functions described herein may be implemented in various ways in accordance with desired performance criteria. Those of ordinary skill in the art can readily design such hardware architectures and create/write such software programs, without undue experimentation, in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the invention described herein.
If the user desires further details about a particular building or floor within a building, the invention can provide this information in a quick and easy manner. By using a mouse cursor or other pointer, or a keyboard, the user can select a “top floor” icon, for example, from the menu 111 and get a layout diagram of the building structure for the top floor.
Additionally, in one embodiment, as the user moves a cursor above areas or rooms outlined by the layout diagram 117, corresponding pop-up text messages may be presented to the user to instantly provide location-specific information about the particular area or room. Methods of providing such pop-up text messages that are mapped to locations of a graphic image are known in the art and may be implemented using known and commercially available programs such as, for example, iPOP Pro Sensomap™ from Image Intelligence, Ltd., located in Herefordshire, United Kingdom.
As further illustrated in
In a preferred embodiment, as the user's mouse cursor moves over particular objects/structures within the spherical image, pop-up messages (not shown) may appear that provide critical information or instructions. For example, if the mouse cursor pans over a door, a pop-up message may appear containing information such as where the door leads to, material and thickness of the door, whether it opens inwardly or outwardly, where the hinges are located, etc. The pop-up message may further provide instructions such as “double click to proceed through door into next room.”
If the user is now interested in another room, he or she does not have to continue navigating through spherical images, which can become confusing, especially during a crisis situation. Instead, the user can simply return to the “top floor” layout 117 displayed in the third window and click on a desired room to “jump” into that room.
If the user desires to exit room 101 through the door shown on the right portion of the image 131, he or she may position a mouse cursor, for example, over the door and click once or twice to indicate a desire to proceed through the door.
In one preferred embodiment, the invention further provides the ability to retrieve refined layout diagrams of portions of the top floor, or any other floor for that matter, which may be of particular interest to emergency personnel. For example, if emergency personnel desire further detailed information about the administrative offices, such personnel may obtain the information by selecting an “Admin Offices” icon or link in the layout diagram 117 or selecting “Admin Detail” icon 119 as shown in
The invention allows emergency personnel to access various other types of information with ease and speed. For example, by clicking on the link “Aerial View” in the menu 111 presented in the left window of the computer screen display, an aerial view image 145 is displayed in the middle window as shown in
In another embodiment, the menu 111 further provides a “site map” link that allows a user to retrieve and view a site map of the desired site in either the second or third window. An exemplary site map is shown in the right window of
Other types of critical tactical information may include information pertaining to the different routes/roads that may be taken to enter a particular site. By clicking on the link “Parking Lot Ingress Video” from the menu 111, a user may obtain various videos showing the landscape and overall topology of different routes of access to the site.
By selecting appropriate menu items from the menu 111 in the left window of the computer screen display, information pertaining to other floors of a building may be obtained.
In a preferred embodiment, by selecting the icon “Critical Information & Telephone #'s” in the menu 111, the user can access a large variety of information that may be needed in a crisis situation.
As shown in
Referring again to
Appendix A attached hereto provides an overview of an exemplary process of conducting a tactical survey of a site in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the invention described above.
The invention provides a method and system for quickly and easily providing critical tactical information to emergency personnel during crisis situations. As described above, a large amount and variety of information may be efficiently delivered to emergency personnel to address a multitude of tactical concerns and issues. Such a comprehensive and user friendly system has heretofore been unknown to assist emergency personnel in crisis situations. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the above descriptions of the preferred embodiments are exemplary only and that the invention may be practiced with modifications or variations of the techniques disclosed above. Those of ordinary skill in the art will know, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments of the invention described herein. Such modifications, variations and equivalents are contemplated to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below.
Claims
1. In a computer system having a graphical user interface including a computer screen display and a selection device, a method of providing tactical information pertaining to a site, the method comprising:
- providing a first window on said computer screen display, said first window displaying a menu of user-selectable categories of tactical information;
- receiving a user selection of one of said categories of information;
- retrieving tactical information corresponding to said selected category, wherein said tactical information is retrieved from a computer readable medium; and
- providing a second window on said computer screen display, said second window displaying said retrieved tactical information corresponding to said selected category.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 8, 2008
Publication Date: Jul 16, 2009
Applicant: TACTICAL SURVEY GROUP, INC. (Crestline, CA)
Inventor: Steve Larsen (Crestline, CA)
Application Number: 12/330,365
International Classification: G06F 3/048 (20060101);