Tools/Technology to Enhance the ES Mission?

[A.Member]

So, here's yet another hypothetical thread.  You get to be King for the day...

What is the one tool/technology that CAP is currently missing that you would add/make available to our members so as to increase the effectiveness or enhance our emergency services mission. 
 
Constraint - Proposal must:
   Adhere to all current regs (ie. no bringing in helicopters, etc)
   Be somewhat reasonable/realistic about costs (ie you can dream a little bit and assume some budget but no CAP owned satellites, etc).
   The technology/solution should currently exist/be generally available

With you proposal, briefly state your case as to why it would add value.   
Consider:
   Cost-effectiveness
   Advantages and disadvantages of your proposal

[lordmonar]

Real Time GPS tracking of Ground Teams, Aircraft, Vehicles and Key Personnel.

[A.Member]

Real Time GPS tracking of Ground Teams, Aircraft, Vehicles and Key Personnel.

Like a My Tracks solution but with a centralized dashboard/view?  Perhaps some sort of MDM type solution?

[JeffDG]

Real Time GPS tracking of Ground Teams, Aircraft, Vehicles and Key Personnel.

Like a My Tracks solution but with a centralized dashboard/view?

I have a Google Earth tool that gets our SPOT trackers on a globe.

[A.Member]

Real Time GPS tracking of Ground Teams, Aircraft, Vehicles and Key Personnel.

Like a My Tracks solution but with a centralized dashboard/view?

I have a Google Earth tool that gets our SPOT trackers on a globe.

Can they all be viewed centrally by say an IC or something?  Or can the team only see their SPOT?  Does every team/aircrew have a SPOT?

[JeffDG]

Real Time GPS tracking of Ground Teams, Aircraft, Vehicles and Key Personnel.

Like a My Tracks solution but with a centralized dashboard/view?

I have a Google Earth tool that gets our SPOT trackers on a globe.

Can they all be viewed centrally by say an IC or something?  Or can the team only see their SPOT?  Does every team/aircrew have a SPOT?

Hell, I give you the KML, you can see my folks!

We generally have a projector set up with GE on it with the planes.  We can even do a "central" rename of the device, so you don't see the big-ugly SPOT ID, I can just label it as "CAP4171".  Finally, if it doesn't get SPOT data for 30 minutes, it turns the symbol yellow, and 60 minutes makes it big (about 5x normal size) and red.

[lordmonar]

That's my thinking.   Every aircraft and vehicle would have something like Spot that could be tracked by anyone with a password.

Plus we would have a butt load more units for individual GT members out in the field.

No more one hour check-ins and we can actually see if the crews and teams actually covered that grid. 

[NC Hokie]

Let's get serious about airborne SAR by mounting sensor pods on airframes that can handle them.  Real time video could be streamed to a mission base with many other eyes assisting in the search (even - GASP - cadets!), and infra-red could allow us to keep flying once the sun goes down.

I have no idea what these systems cost, but they have to be cheaper than the ARCHER fiasco, and the added capability would be worth sacrificing one new airframe per year to cover the cost.

The biggest disadvantage that I see is that this may turn our birds into surveillance aircraft, with all of the associated headaches and hassles (posse comitatus, public perception, etc.) that brings.

[A.Member]

Real Time GPS tracking of Ground Teams, Aircraft, Vehicles and Key Personnel.

Like a My Tracks solution but with a centralized dashboard/view?

I have a Google Earth tool that gets our SPOT trackers on a globe.

Can they all be viewed centrally by say an IC or something?  Or can the team only see their SPOT?  Does every team/aircrew have a SPOT?

Hell, I give you the KML, you can see my folks!

We generally have a projector set up with GE on it with the planes.  We can even do a "central" rename of the device, so you don't see the big-ugly SPOT ID, I can just label it as "CAP4171".  Finally, if it doesn't get SPOT data for 30 minutes, it turns the symbol yellow, and 60 minutes makes it big (about 5x normal size) and red.

Does every team/aircrew in your Wing have a SPOT or is it limited to just a few?  How does this work in SAR(EX)s?  How does it improve your mission effectiveness?  Are your SPOTs subscription based?  How do you maintain signal?  Does your SPOT solution track and record path or only current location? 

You are using this device, correct?:
http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=102

[JeffDG]

Real Time GPS tracking of Ground Teams, Aircraft, Vehicles and Key Personnel.

Like a My Tracks solution but with a centralized dashboard/view?

I have a Google Earth tool that gets our SPOT trackers on a globe.

Can they all be viewed centrally by say an IC or something?  Or can the team only see their SPOT?  Does every team/aircrew have a SPOT?

Hell, I give you the KML, you can see my folks!

We generally have a projector set up with GE on it with the planes.  We can even do a "central" rename of the device, so you don't see the big-ugly SPOT ID, I can just label it as "CAP4171".  Finally, if it doesn't get SPOT data for 30 minutes, it turns the symbol yellow, and 60 minutes makes it big (about 5x normal size) and red.

Does every team/aircrew in your Wing have a SPOT or is it limited to just a few?  How does this work in SAR(EX)s?  How does it improve your mission effectiveness?  Are your SPOTs subscription based?  How do you maintain signal? 

You are using this device correct:
http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=102

Yes, we've been purchasing units for the last year or two, and now have enough in the wing to cover all of our aircraft, and starting to deploy them to ground vehicles too.

Yes, they're subscription based.  The signal is satellite based (not cellular), so toss the SPOT up on the dash of the airplane and it maintains pretty good signal.

About the one annoyance is that the lag time...they only update once every 10 minutes, so they're not a true "real time" thing.  We also train crews to use them to signal things when out of comm range...for example, one button is designates as "objective found, returning to base", another is designated as "OPS Normal", so we can keep track of aircrews that are beyond our comm range and still know they're OK.

[A.Member]

Real Time GPS tracking of Ground Teams, Aircraft, Vehicles and Key Personnel.

Like a My Tracks solution but with a centralized dashboard/view?

I have a Google Earth tool that gets our SPOT trackers on a globe.

Can they all be viewed centrally by say an IC or something?  Or can the team only see their SPOT?  Does every team/aircrew have a SPOT?

Hell, I give you the KML, you can see my folks!

We generally have a projector set up with GE on it with the planes.  We can even do a "central" rename of the device, so you don't see the big-ugly SPOT ID, I can just label it as "CAP4171".  Finally, if it doesn't get SPOT data for 30 minutes, it turns the symbol yellow, and 60 minutes makes it big (about 5x normal size) and red.

Does every team/aircrew in your Wing have a SPOT or is it limited to just a few?  How does this work in SAR(EX)s?  How does it improve your mission effectiveness?  Are your SPOTs subscription based?  How do you maintain signal? 

You are using this device correct:
http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=102

Yes, we've been purchasing units for the last year or two, and now have enough in the wing to cover all of our aircraft, and starting to deploy them to ground vehicles too.

Yes, they're subscription based.  The signal is satellite based (not cellular), so toss the SPOT up on the dash of the airplane and it maintains pretty good signal.

About the one annoyance is that the lag time...they only update once every 10 minutes, so they're not a true "real time" thing.  We also train crews to use them to signal things when out of comm range...for example, one button is designates as "objective found, returning to base", another is designated as "OPS Normal", so we can keep track of aircrews that are beyond our comm range and still know they're OK.

I'd argue that real-time truly is not a need for any of our missions, so near real time is fine.   

How much is the monthly subscription per device?

Does SPOT report altitude or only location?

[Spaceman3750]

As a GTL, I have absolutely no interest in carrying a spot tracker. Let me work, I'll call if I need something. I suppose from a POD perspective it would be nice to be able to put a line on a map afterwards, but I can just give you my GPS track using equipment I already have.

[isuhawkeye]

As a ground team person I love the spot.  I actually have two of them.  I know that when comms is out and I am beyond cell phone range that I can still have one way communications out of my location if needed. 

[lordmonar]

As a GTL, I have absolutely no interest in carrying a spot tracker. Let me work, I'll call if I need something. I suppose from a POD perspective it would be nice to be able to put a line on a map afterwards, but I can just give you my GPS track using equipment I already have.

That's the beauty of the SPOT.....you don't have to do anything but turn it on.

Mission base does not have to get on the radio every hour (requiring you to get to higher ground to make a call).
Mission base can track your real time position to update their board.
After mission you can down load the file for your POD.
If anyone on the team gets into trouble....push the SOS button and immediate e-mails go out to the appropriate personnel to start the rescue operation.

[Eclipse]

Has no one heard of Latitude?

Free, and works with Smartphons as well as iOS devices.

[wuzafuzz]

I would love to see CAP fund SPOT devices and subscriptions for all aircraft and vehicles.  Being able to choose which devices to track on one web page view would be completely awesome.

I have a personally owned SPOT device and just bought two of them for my squadron's planes.  (Courtesy of grant money from my employer.)  It's really nice to be able to track aircraft locations, we like the ability to send canned messages, and of course the SOS feature is nice if needed.  The ability to send Ops Normal messages is great, plus I like the fact that we can press a button to send coordinates to mission base without reading them over the air.

The SPOT device is managed through an online account that permits customization of the messages sent for certain button presses, and where those messages are sent.  You can create multiple profiles for each device and select them on the web page to fit your expected activities.  For my personal device I have profiles for hiking trips, road and off-road trips, and for CAP missions.  My profile for CAP missions includes contact info for NOC and my wing alert staff in the event I press the SOS button.

I've used Latitude and similar services.  They are neat and the price is right.  Unfortunately I can lose cell service in the hills a couple miles from my house, not to mention significant portions of the Rocky Mountains a few miles further away.  Another factor is that SPOT is OK to run in flight.  Cell phones aren't.  Plus, my SPOT has been running for 8 months on one set of batteries (occasional use), and the manual says it can beacon for about 7 days before depleting good batteries. 

[A.Member]

Has no one heard of Latitude?

Free, and works with Smartphons as well as iOS devices.

Yes, but that is SMS based.  SPOT uses satellite messaging and, as a result, is not subject to the same restrictions.  This makes technology like SPOT potentially more appealing, especially in areas with poor cell service (and there are still a remarkable number of those).  In addition, the cost advantage of it's one time per unit cost and $100 per year subscription is potentially more attractive than purchasing smart phones with data plans.

[Critical AOA]

I guess some folks think that every square inch of the US has good cell service and that everyone has a smartphone.   

[Eclipse]

Has no one heard of Latitude?

Free, and works with Smartphons as well as iOS devices.

Yes, but that is SMS based.  SPOT uses satellite messaging and, as a result, is not subject to the same restrictions.  This makes technology like SPOT potentially more appealing, especially in areas with poor cell service (and there are still a remarkable number of those).  In addition, the cost advantage of it's one time per unit cost and $100 per year subscription is potentially more attractive than purchasing smart phones with data plans.

For the majority of professionals, and I would hazard nearly all the members involved in ES, no purchase or additional cost would be necessary. 

I guess some folks think that every square inch of the US has good cell service and that everyone has a smartphone.   

Of course not, but when you have a free tool sitting on the workbench, you don't disregard it because the more expensive hammer >might< work better.  There's no
guarantee of Satellite coverage or connection either.   My DOSA recently took a cross-country motorcycle trip and was all excited about us tracking him via the SPOT.
Didn't work worth a darn.  Fog and other poor weather, mountains, and other factors made the thing all but useless.

We need to work our way >out< from the lowest common denominator technology that is already in hand, and then supplement it when necessary.  For every
mission we do in an area with no coverage, we're doing 100 in full line-of-site of a cell tower.   

Also, to my knowledge, Latitude is not SMS based.  It also does not requires a GPS lock to function (though positioning accuracy is degraded when using tower triangulation).

[A.Member]

For the majority of professionals, and I would hazard nearly all the members involved in ES, no purchase or additional cost would be necessary. 

That assumption is not at all true in our Wing. And there is a significant difference between tracking a CAP owned device and tracking someone's personal device.  Not at all a fan of the latter.