Designing an optimized alert system based on geospatial location data

Abstract

Optimizing responses to various crises is a critical task for the government, institutions, first responders, and everyone involved in public safety. This paper describes the design methodology of ongoing research for planning, implementing, and analyzing the operation of a software application for an optimized crisis alert system. Design decisions are based on previous research, system performance requirements, and adaptive strategies for situational changes. The development includes the creation of an application for smart phones driven by user geospatial location. In the event of a crisis, user location determines the formation of categories that are assigned a risk level based on proximity to the crisis location. Notifications are distributed to users in the immediate category followed by lower risk users further and further outward. Integration and testing will be done with the existing Virginia Tech alert system. This design will yield an optimized, reliable, and situationally customized crisis notification system. © 2014 IEEE.