Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 1Red Cross
GIS and Distributed Command Control and Communication for
Search and Rescue
DISCO-SAR
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 2Red Cross
Search and Rescue in Norway
• +800 missing persons, +60 missing boats each year• Search resources
– Search dogs– Personnel on foot or skies– Specialist groups– Vehicles– Aircrafts– Boats
• The Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) coordinates all SAR efforts in Norway
• The SAR activity is delegated to Local Rescue Centers• Tactical planning and execution is directed in the field by
Search and Rescue leaders
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 3Red Cross
The Norwegian Rescue Service
• The Norwegian Rescue Service is based on the Cooperation Principle
• Cooperation between government, volunteer and private organizations
• The police is responsible for leading the search- and rescue effort in the field
• The local SAR-management consist usually of experienced personnel from all participating organizations
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 4Red Cross
Norwegian Red Cross Search and Rescue
• +6 500 personnel• +500 events/year• A nationwide service
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 5Red Cross
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 6Red Cross
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 7Red Cross
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 8Red Cross
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 9Red Cross
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 10Red Cross
The Search Problem
• A geographical problem– “Where is the missing person?”
• A tactical problem– “How do we maximize the probability of detection?”
• A organization problem– “How do we organize the search effort?”
• A logistical problem– “Which resources are needed and where do we use them?”
• A technological problem– “How can information technology increase the efficiency of the
Search and Rescue effort?”
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 11Red Cross
The command post
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 12Red Cross
Search Leader (Role)
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Tactics Leader (Role)
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Logistics Leader (Role)
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Shared situational awareness
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Tactics documentation
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Tactics documentation
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Tactics documentation
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Tactics documentation
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Tactics documentation
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Resource allocation table
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Event log
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Communication log
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Unit (personnel) log
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Briefing
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Briefing
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The general SAR work process
Management
Tactics LogisticsCmd Post
AssignmentsMessages
ProgressMessages
Information
CoordinationInformation
CoordinationInformation
Units
AssignmentsMessages
• Principal level• Next of kin• Media• General public
CommunicationInformation
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 28Red Cross
The design challenge
• Usability• Complexity• Modeling organization, work processes and
entity relations • Human-Technology-Organization interactions• Synchronization and Distribution• Lack of standardization
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 29Red Cross
Expert or novice user?
Expert Novice
Voluntary SAR service
• Infrequently• ContinuousIn Use
• All functions are known• Complex mental models• Usually a experienced GIS user
• ”Search-Identify-Activate” behavior• Simple mental models• Rarely any GIS experience
The user
• Generalized• Menu based• Work process not i focus• Complex state machines
• Specialized• Few menus• Work process in focus• Simple state machines
User Interface
• www.senorge.no• www.gulesider.no
• ArcINFO• OziExplorer
Examples
– The application –
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 30Red Cross
The DISCO project
• Collaboration project between the Norwegian Red Cross, The Norwegian Justice Department (Joint Rescue Coordination Centers), Geodata AS and Christian Michelsen Research AS
• Pilot application ready soon (DISKO v.0.1)• User centered design and development• Usability testing in five different parts of Norway (geographical and
demographical dispersed)• 4,5 MNOK (580 000 euro) spent so far• Only core (critical) functionality is implemented• PhD work on distributed decision support using a system dynamic
model of the production and allocation work processes and GIScience is part of the project
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 31Red Cross
Some system properties
• Scaleable; from single to multi user• Enables virtual organization through shared
situational awareness using GIS and a synchronized and distributed E-R model
• Each task can be shared by N work processes• Each work process can be allocated to N roles• Each role can be identified by N concurrent
(logged on) users• Platform independent (JavaTM)
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 32Red Cross
Mapping Users to Tasks
Tasks
WorkProcesses
Roles
Users
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 33Red Cross
GIS
Synchronization and distribution
DISCO framework
Graphical User Interface
E-R Model
Work processes
Network
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 34Red Cross
ArcGISEngine
Runtime
DISCO framework
Javax.Swing.*
MSO Model
Network
WP1 WP2 WP2
SARA Model driver
SARA API
1. SARA: Search and Rescue Application (JRCC)2. MSO: Managing Search Operations
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 35Red Cross
DISCO topology
Client(Master)
Standalone
Client 1(Slave)
Client 2(Master)
Client n(Slave)
Local Network
Client 1(Slave)
Client 2(Master)
Client n(Slave)
Local Network
Client n+2(Slave)
Client n+1(Slave)
Internett
Local Network
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Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 37Red Cross
Lessons learned
• Designing a intuitive and pleasing graphical user interface is hard!– Dependent on a functional and thoroughly tested
framework– Design, development and testing is time consuming– The process is highly iterative
• User involvement in every aspect of design, development and testing phases is important
• Development is only 20 percent of the challenge, the remaining 80 percent is organization issues.
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Contact information
• Kenneth GulbrandsøyProject leader, Norwegian Red [email protected]+47 932 58 930
• Pål HusumAssistant project leader, Norwegian Red Cross [email protected]+47 918 45 821
• Camilla HaugstenProject coordinator, Norwegian Red Cross [email protected]+47 22 05 41 35+47 416 92 702
• Øyvind SkaugProject leader, Geodata [email protected] +47 452 74 494
• Vinjar WærenskjoldProject leader, Christian Michelsens Research [email protected]+47 55 57 40 40
Kenneth Gulbrandsøy 39Red Cross
Thank you!
www.redcross.no/disko(Norwegian, English version available soon)