Abstract

Hamming GIS up with APRS
Track: Disaster and Emergency Management
Authors: Ray Chilcote

Amateur Radio has been a hobby as well as an invaluable communication tool for decades. Bouncing radio signals off the moon to creating the world's first form of an internet, Amateur Radio developed in backyard shacks and closet spaces. Having reliable communication can be invaluable during an emergency, in particular when in remote areas or when normal communications are unavailable (disasters). Similarly having good spatial data is invaluable, in particular data from the local level and/or high precision data. In an emergency, putting the two together may very well be immeasurable.

This talk will show how APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System using packet radio), which transmits position and free text information in a near real-time environment, can mean the difference in minutes, hours, and even days of resources. The end product, freely available to the GIS and Amateur Radio communities, will enhance EMS Centers (Emergency Management Centers) across the world.