Industry Snapshot
ikeGPS Helps First Responders and Engineers in Disasters
In September 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused wide-scale damage to the Southern United States. According to the US National Hurricane Center, Katrina was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the country’s history.
Many federal agencies such as Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and US Military Forces contributed to the response and relief operations. The Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) were also called upon to assist in the subsequent disaster response efforts. USACE was faced with numerous site access problems during the relief efforts. A large number of potential biohazards such as oil spills needed to be located as specific planning or responses were required for these areas. ikeGPS was chosen to help engineers collect GIS data and geotagged images of these biohazards quickly and safely.
ikeGPS combines a laser rangefinder, GPS, digital camera, compass, and computer in a single handheld device. ikeGPS enables faster, safer, and more efficient field GIS data acquisition through standoff photo positioning: multiple targets up to 1000 meters distant can be positioned from a single location, enabling the operator to remain in a safe and/or concealed location throughout the capture process.
ikeGPS produces a geotagged digital image of each target location, with crosshairs showing precisely which target was captured and other relevant data superimposed right on the image - providing a new degree of verifiability, speed, and safety in GIS data acquisition.
The use of ikeGPS mobile data capture solution in such a large scale recovery effort highlights the quality and reliability of ikeGPS as a field information collection and mapping tool in emergency situations. Its simplicity allows for fast and efficient large-scale unit deployment, whilst its flexibility allows operators to quickly adapt the device for the task at hand.
Examples of Disaster Manaegement Use
- Emergency response to storms and floods
- Damage assessment and recovery plans
- Emergency planning
- Response assessment
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