Alert Distribution Area Visualization for Emergency Systems
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless emergency alert systems, such as CMAS/WEA, often result in overalerting due to the actual distribution area being larger than the intended target area, as public safety agencies lack accurate information about the distribution area before alert dissemination.
Innovation Solution
A computing system provides an interface for public safety agencies to input a target area for alerts, requests and receives a definition of the actual distribution area, and presents this information to users via geospatial maps, allowing refinement of the target area before alert distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If wireless carrier networks broadcast alerts in the entirety of each coverage area that falls within the target distribution area, then the alert distribution system can be implemented using existing wireless infrastructure, but the actual distribution area becomes larger than the target distribution area, resulting in overalerting and degraded accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification of coverage areas and pre-calculates the actual distribution area before the alert is broadcast. This allows public safety agencies to review and adjust the target distribution area in advance, preventing overalerting while maintaining ease of implementation using existing wireless infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback to public safety agencies by displaying the actual distribution area that would result from a given target distribution area. This feedback loop enables agencies to refine their target areas to better match desired distribution boundaries, improving alert distribution accuracy while still using existing wireless carrier networks.
2Measurement precision
If public safety agencies adjust the target distribution area to match the actual distribution area, then alert distribution accuracy improves, but public safety agencies lack information about the actual distribution area, preventing any adjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary computing system that acts as a mediator between the alert originator and the wireless carrier networks. This intermediary calculates the actual distribution area based on the target distribution area and wireless coverage area definitions, then provides this information back to the alert originator, enabling informed adjustments to improve alert distribution accuracy.
3Ease of operation
If the system identifies coverage areas that only partially fall within the target distribution area and broadcasts alerts in the entirety of each coverage area, then the alert can be distributed using standard wireless broadcast mechanisms, but this results in overalerting areas outside the desired target area
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification and analysis of coverage areas before broadcast. By pre-calculating which coverage areas will be affected and displaying the actual distribution area to the alert originator, the system enables refinement of the target distribution area to minimize overalerting while still using simple wireless broadcast mechanisms for distribution.
Data Source
AI summary
A computing system such as an alert originator may provide an interface through which a user (e.g., an employee of a public safety agency) may input a definition of a target area for distribution of a prospective alert. Upon receiving a target-area definition, the computing system may then request and receive a definition of an actual area in which the prospective alert would be distributed—which is composed of the coverage areas in which each participating wireless carrier networks would distribute the prospective alert. In turn, the computing system may present the user with a depiction of the actual distribution area for the prospective alert (e.g., an overlay of a geospatial shape on a map graphic), which enables the user to assess the actual distribution area and decide whether to refine the target geographic area for an alert before that alert is distributed.