Patent Application
20080139165
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to emergency communications and, more particularly, to emergency notification systems for mobile telephone users within a disaster region to quickly and efficiently convey situational status indicators to concerned parties.
2. Description of the Related Art
Widespread disaster occurrences, such as hurricanes, floods, and terrorist attacks result in communication networks being disabled and/or saturated. A significant portion of the call volumes are associated with friends and loved ones communicating with others located within or proximate to a disaster region to determine whether those they care for are safe or are in need of assistance. The typical communications, which overload communication networks, are person to person voice communications, which consume a relative large amount of bandwidth of a telecommunications infrastructure.
A few emergency contact centers and/or systems have been established in an attempt to assure loved ones in a manner less burdensome to a communication infrastructure. TextOK.com has established a server that allows users to register their mobile phone numbers and a set of contacts. When a text message of “OK” is sent to an established number, each contact in the established set is sent a message indicating that the registered user is alright. Other services permit a user to send an “OK” message to a centralized server, which others can contact to see whether the OK message has been sent that indicates the user is not in danger.
All of these existing systems require that a user communicates with a messaging site, which may not be possible if communication networks are down or saturated or if a person is suffering as a result of a disaster. Further, concerned parties are provided with no information other than a message or a lack of message for an unknown reason. Even if a concerned party desires to assist a disaster sufferer, they are not aware of where aid is to be rendered or what type of aid is needed. Moreover, a concerned party is not able to enlist assistance from rescue personnel, since a need is too uncertain. That is, the potential disaster sufferer may have forgotten to send an OK message during the chaotic period during or after a disaster. Another very realistic possibility is that a user in an affected area is unable to communicate out of a disaster region due to network saturation, mobile telephony device problems, or due to a mobile communication network being down.
Another problem that occurs in the aftermath of a disaster relates to deployment of rescue personnel and properly targeting relief resources to areas having the greatest need. Recent disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorists attacks, illustrate that government agencies and public service organizations lack a means to assess areas and people in need of assistance immediately following a disaster. Aggravated hardships, increased injury, and loss of life can result from disaster sufferers not receiving timely aid. What is needed is a system that permits aid to be quickly targeted to those having the greatest need. What is also needed is a means for communicating situational status to concerned parties in a manner that conserves limited communication resources present after a disaster and that provides sufficient information to be helpful to those who wish to aid disaster sufferers.
The present invention discloses a solution for providing a situational status and a location of a subscriber potentially affected by a disaster to concerned parties. The situational status and location can be obtained by querying a centralized disaster response system, which is presumed to be outside a disaster region, thereby providing information to concerned parties without burdening a communication infrastructure of an affected area. In one arrangement the disaster response system can automatically initiate a set of preconfigured, subscriber configurable actions. Different actions can be initiated depending upon disaster type, subscriber location, a status indicator of a subscriber, and other parameters.
More specifically, when a disaster is detected, mobile devices of subscribers can be queried for location and wireless connectivity by a centrally located disaster response system. When a subscriber is away from a disaster area, this information can be recorded and it can be presumed that the subscriber is alright. When a subscriber is proximate to a disaster area, the subscriber's device can be queried for a status indicator and for an optional user provided message. This status indicator and message can be provided at any time by the subscriber, who is not forced to fight for a communication connection with the disaster response system during a time where dedicated mobile communication channels can be difficult to obtain. Instead, a user can enter their status indicator and optional message, which is thereafter automatically conveyed to the disaster response system using either a polling or a pushing methodology.
In one embodiment, a special communication channel can be reserved for the disaster response system to obtain the situational status indicators and messages, which can consume relatively little bandwidth compared to voice communications. Further, when communications are intermittent, the disaster response system can automatically and repetitively query mobile devices for desired status information. When the disaster response system contacts a mobile device and no status information has been recorded, the system can record a location of the device and can prompt a user to enter status information. When a mobile device is unable to be contacted, the disaster response server can look-up a last known location of user and to ascertain whether mobile communications are down in that area. Further, a last known activity for the mobile device can be ascertained and compared against disaster related times. This can be an indicator of whether the mobile device was left uncharged, turned off, or unconnected due to some disaster independent reason. All of this information can be recorded and reported to concerned parties.
In one contemplated scenario, the disaster response system can determine areas and/or subscribers in greatest need of relief based upon subscriber status indicators and subscriber locations. For example, if eighty percent of subscribers in a first region report a situational status indicator that the subscribers are in dire need of aid and if ninety percent of subscribers in a second region report that they are alright, then relief workers can be directed towards the first region. Further, location information of subscribers and messages relating to relief needs can be used to further focus disaster relief efforts. In one embodiment, media capabilities of mobile phones can be utilized for disaster assessment purposes. For instance, one or more subscribers can use a camera, a video capture feature, an audio capture feature, and the like of their mobile device to convey disaster details to the disaster response system.
It should be noted that various aspects of the invention can be implemented as a program for controlling computing equipment to implement the functions described herein, or a program for enabling computing equipment to perform processes corresponding to the steps disclosed herein. This program may be provided by storing the program in a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or any other recording medium. The program can also be provided as a digitally encoded signal conveyed via a carrier wave. The described program can be a single program or can he implemented as multiple subprograms, each of which interact within a single computing device or interact in a distributed fashion across a network space.
The method detailed herein can also be a method performed at least in part by a service agent and/or a machine manipulated by a service agent in response to a service request.
There are shown in the drawings, embodiments which are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
Concerned parties 136 can communicate with the disaster response system 120 to obtain the status indicator and location of queried subscribers 132-134. For example, a mother (e.g., concerned party 136) can contact the emergency response system 120 to determine whether her daughter (e.g., one of subscribers 130-134) is alright in the aftermath of a disaster,
In one embodiment, data obtained from the subscribers 130-134 can be aggregated and used for disaster relief purposes. For example, subscribers 130-132 can predominately submit status indicators to server 120 indicating that they are alright while subscribers 134 can predominantly submit status indicators indicating that they are in need of assistance. The aggregated data can be reported to disaster relief workers and/or agencies to let these workers/agencies know that timely attention is needed for zone 114 associated with subscribers 134 but that other zones in region 110 appear to be in less need. In general, the aggregated data can help the relief workers and/or agencies determine a response order and/or to proportion relief resources based upon need. Specific locations of subscribers 130-134 in need of assistance can also be provided from system 120 to disaster relief workers/agencies along with any other relevant information.
It should be appreciated that during a disaster, a communication infrastructure of a disaster region 110 can be crippled and/or saturated making communications into and out of region 110 difficult. The disaster response system 120 is designed to alleviate a portion of the burden place upon the communication infrastructure of region 110 by handling communications using resources outside the affected region 110.
For example, status indicators and locations of subscribers 132-134 can be exchanged between system 120 and concerned parties 136 using unaffected telecommunication resources. To ensure that the disaster response system 120 is external to region 110, a series or cluster of linked communication resources can be geographically dispersed, shown by system elements 121-124. Any elements, such as 124, which are included in disaster region 110, can be disabled for a particular disaster. Therefore, for the disaster region 110 shown in system 100, the disaster response system 120 would actively utilize only system elements 121-123.
Various additional measures can be taken to ensure that subscribers 132-134 in region 110 are able to communicate with system 120. In one embodiment, a communication channel of a mobile telephony system can be reserved specifically for communications between subscribers 130-134 and system 120, which helps resolve network saturation issues. Reserving a communication channel for status information can have a relatively insignificant effect on an overall communication infrastructure as data exchanges consume relatively few resources.
In one embodiment, multiple communication/information transmission options can be established to enable subscribers 130-134 to communicate with system 120. For example, mobile telephony and push-to-talk (PTT) channels of mobile devices can both be used for sending status indicators to system 120. It is also contemplated that ad hoc networks can be dynamically established (i.e., through BLUETOOTH functionality of mobile telephones) to enable subscribers 130-134 to convey status and location information when wide area network (WAN) communications are unavailable. Local wireless data networks, such as WIMAX networks and WIFI networks can also be used for relaying status information to system 120, when other communication channels are unavailable. Moreover, it is contemplated that relief workers can deploy communication access points, such as WIFI access points, for the purpose of receiving situation status information from areas that are otherwise disconnected from system 120.
Software 212 on device 210 can permit subscriber 214 to report situation status information to system 230. Interface 220 shows one contemplated reporting interface. Using interface 220, a user can select a status indicator 222, such as OK, NEED HELP, and IN CRITICAL NEED. In one configuration, an option indicating whether subscriber 214 can help others 229 can be included.
Additionally, in one embodiment, a previously designed plan can be selectively initialized 224. The plan can be one that was previously established with system 230. For example, if subscriber 214 is a parent unable to pick-up a child due to the disaster, a previously designated party 246 can be tasked with the child's well being, whenever Plan A is selected. A message 226 entry option can also exist that permits the subscriber 214 to send a message detailing a situation to the system 230.
In another embodiment, options to utilize specialized sensors and/or components of the device 210 can be present in interface 220. For example, options 228 can exist to utilize a built-in camera or video feature of the device 210 to send a picture or video of the post-disaster situation to system 230.
Communications between device 210 and system 230 can utilize a push and/or pull methodology. For example, device 210 can push data to system 230 over network 250, or data can be pulled from device 210 by system 230. When a network 250 connection is intermittent, repeated communication attempts, possibly using different communication channels, can be automatically performed until system 230 receives information from device 210.
In one arrangement, system 230 can combine data obtained from one or more devices 210 with information obtained from other sources, such as server 240, in order to create a more comprehensive situation assessment. For example, server 240 can provide satellite images of a disaster region, which can be combined with a subscriber location so that a concerned party 246 is able to see not only a status indicator and a location for a subscriber 214, but a picture of that area as well. Disaster response system 230 can convey data to one or more disaster relief systems 242, which can provide assistance to needful subscribers 214.
Device 210 can be any computing device capable of communicating status and location information to system 230. Device 210 can include a mobile telephone, a computer, a personal data assistant (PDA's), a two-way radio, a GPS device, a media player, an entertainment system, a wearable computing device, and the like. Different communication modes can be available to the device 210, which can permit information to be shared over a personal area network (PAN) and/or a Wide Area Network (WAN).
Networks 250 and 252 can include any hardware/software/and firmware necessary to convey digital content encoded within carrier waves. Digital content can be contained within analog or digital signals and conveyed though data or voice channels. Networks 250-252 can include network equipment, such as routers, data lines, hubs, and intermediary servers which together form a data or telephony network. Networks 250-252 can include mobile communication components, such as cellular communication towers, two-way radio transceiving components, and the like.
Data stores 260-264 can each be a physical or virtual storage space configured to store digital information. Each of data stores 260-264 can be physically implemented within any type of hardware including, but not limited to, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a semiconductor memory, a digitally encoded plastic memory, a holographic memory, or any other recording medium. The data stores 260-264 can be a stand-alone storage unit as well as a storage unit formed from a plurality of physical devices. Additionally, information can be stored within each data store 260-264 in a variety of manners. For example, information can be stored within a database structure or can be stored within one or more files of a file storage system, where each file may or may not be indexed for information searching purposes. Further, data stores 260-264 can utilize one or more encryption mechanisms to protect stored information from unauthorized access.
The method can begin in step 305, where a server can request location information from mobile devices. Corresponding database entries can be populated using this information. In step 310, a determination can be made as to whether a disaster has occurred. If so, the method can proceed from step 310 to step 315, where a determination can be made as to whether any subscribers have been affected by the disaster. This determination can be based on the location information of step 305. One factor that, can be considered in step 315 is a quantity of subscribers who have manually activated an emergency response plan. That is, a subscriber having an unknown affected status that is proximately located to a set of other subscribers, who have each manually activated an emergency response plan, can be presumed to be affected by an emergency. Further, sufficient subscriber emergency plan activation in a given area can cause step 310 to be automatically evaluated as true for that area. If results of step 310 or step 315 are negative, then method can proceed to step 320, where a check can he performed to determine if anyone issued an “Are You OK” request. If not, the method can wait for a specified period, as shown in step 325, after which the method can repeat step 305.
If in step 315 one or more subscribers are affected by a disaster, the method can proceed to step 330, where a disaster response system can determine whether conditions have been satisfied for a user defined plan. If so, programmatic actions associated with that plan can be initiated, as shown by step 332. Otherwise, a set of default actions for the subscriber can be taken, as noted in step 334. For example, a master contact can be contacted and informed of the status indicator and the location information of the mobile device. Other contacts associated with the subscriber can also be contacted. In another example, a Web site containing subscriber status information can be updated with the subscriber's status indicator and location. Concerned parties, such as family members, can be granted access to the Web site, through which they can look-up the last known location and situational status of the subscriber.
An affirmative response for step 320 can lead to step 335, as can completed steps 332 and 334. In step 335, a server of a disaster response system can request conditions for each affected or queried subscriber. In step 340, a time-stamp response to each of these queries can be placed in a corresponding database entry. If no response is received within a predetermined time period, the response field can be populated with an “Unknown” indication. In step 345, when all responses are determined, responses can be sent to each concerned party and/or to status reporting systems, such as the aforementioned Web site.
In step 350, a troubled subscriber timeout threshold can be checked. This threshold can be associated with potentially threatened subscribers, which includes users having an “Unknown” status and subscribers who set a status indicator to indicate that they were not alright. When the threshold is exceeded, the method can loop to step 335, where the server can request condition information for the potentially threatened subscribers. In step 355, a normal timeout threshold can be checked. When this threshold is exceeded, the method can loop back to step 310, where the method can check to see if the disaster has ended, if not, status information for ail subscribers can be updated.
For example, a rescue plan during a fire can specify that a closest relative to the fire is to assist children near the tire. Each of the plan specified relatives can be associated with a mobile telephony device having location determination capabilities. A disaster response system can determine which of the family members is closest to the fire by querying each device. The nearest device can then be contacted, its user apprised of the situation, and informed of their assigned duties regarding the children.
The top level of chart 400 is a basic response system 410. The response system 410 can be manually triggered by an authorized user or automatically triggered based upon a disaster being detected. Prepared response plans are shown in block 420. These plans 420 can include Plan A for a fire at a house 430, Plan B for a hurricane 440, and Plan C for a terrorist attack 450,
When a fire at a house is detected 430, a pre-determined emergency contact can be contacted 432. If this contact is unavailable, a set of backup contacts can be iteratively contacted. One of the contacts can include a neighbor 434 proximate to the house.
When a hurricane is detected 440, a potentially different set of predetermined possible emergency contacts 442 can be notified. These contacts can include an out of state brother 444 and an out of state cousin 446,
When a terrorist attack is detected 450, a predetermined contact set can be contacted 452. Further a remote server 454, such as an FBI server or a police server, can be provided all known information.
Unplanned emergencies 460 can include an emergency auto accident 470, a robbery 480, and a flood 490. During an auto accident 470 one or more friends 472-474 can be contacted. For a robbery 480, a mother 482 and/or an aunt 484 can be notified of the situation. The mother 482 and/or aunt 484 can, for instance, be watching a business traveler's residence when he is away on a long trip. When a flood 490 occurs, an aunt 492 outside of a threat region can be contacted.
The present invention may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The present invention may be realized in a centralized fashion in one computer system or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware and software may be a general purpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein.
The present invention also may be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the present context means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different material form.
This invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following claims, rather than to the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope of the invention.
