Digital Sign Network for Targeted Emergency Message Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current emergency notification systems, such as the EAS and EBS, are limited in their ability to target specific areas, convey detailed information, and reach individuals in the vicinity of an emergency, and lack integration with digital signs across different manufacturers.
Innovation Solution
A system that connects digital signs with a central computer, allowing governmental entities to control and disseminate emergency messages, access video streams, and provide alternative routing information through a user interface, enabling point-and-click access and emergency message dispatch.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If traditional broadcast systems (EAS/EBS) are used for emergency notifications, then wide area coverage is achieved, but targeting precision and information detail are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the notification delivery by integrating multiple channels: traditional broadcast for wide area alerts and digital signs for localized, targeted notifications. This allows the same emergency information to be distributed broadly while enabling precise targeting of specific geographic areas through digital sign networks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a spatial dimension to emergency notifications by geographically linking digital signs to specific locations. This enables notifications to be targeted at precise geographic areas rather than requiring blanket area-wide broadcasts, resolving the contradiction between wide coverage and precise targeting.
2Loss of information
If traditional broadcast systems are used, then simple text and audio transmission is achieved, but information detail and multimedia capability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a universal notification platform that supports multiple information formats (text, audio, video, images) across different delivery channels. The centralized server can deliver rich multimedia content to digital signs while maintaining compatibility with traditional broadcast systems, thereby increasing information completeness without proportionally increasing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
A centralized server acts as an intermediary between emergency management authorities and multiple delivery channels. This mediator handles the complexity of multimedia content distribution, converting and routing information appropriately to each channel type, thus enabling detailed information transmission without requiring complex end-point devices.
3Adaptability or versatility
If digital signs from different manufacturers are integrated, then system versatility and coverage are improved, but manufacturer-specific interfaces and integration complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a universal communication protocol and standardized interface architecture that enables integration with digital signs from multiple manufacturers. The centralized server can communicate with diverse digital sign networks through common protocols, achieving manufacturer compatibility without requiring complex custom integrations for each vendor.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses configurable parameters and standardized communication protocols that can be adjusted to accommodate different manufacturer specifications. By changing communication parameters rather than redesigning the entire integration architecture, the system achieves versatility across manufacturers while maintaining relatively simple integration processes.
4Reliability
If manual operator intervention is required for digital sign control, then system reliability is improved, but response time and operational efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements automated control mechanisms where the centralized server can autonomously dispatch notifications to digital signs based on pre-configured parameters and emergency protocols. This self-service capability eliminates the need for manual operator intervention in routine operations, dramatically improving response efficiency while maintaining reliability through automated validation and confirmation processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms that automatically confirm notification delivery and display status. This automated feedback loop ensures reliability by verifying that messages were successfully transmitted and displayed, while eliminating the need for manual verification, thus improving both reliability and response efficiency simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed subject matter provides a computing system configured to present a map-centric interface to a user, the map-centric interface usable by the user to control selected ones of a plurality of digital signs. The computing system is further configured to receive via a network interface travel data indicative of availability of travel resources, data corresponding to emergency events, and instructions from a third-party entity regarding the emergency events. The computing system is further configured to connect to a particular digital sign of the selected ones and display information corresponding to the received travel data associated with a geographic region in which the digital sign is located. In addition, the computing system is configured to display on one or more of the plurality of digital signs emergency event messages based on the data corresponding to emergency events.