Demonstration to emphasize ready-to-deploy next generation emergency alert and response capabilities for state and local government
Alexandria VA, Chantilly VA, East Boston MA, Huntsville AL, and Martinez CA – Five leading providers of emergency, incident, and business continuity solutions today jointly announce a major first-of-its-kind demonstration to show the real-world interoperability of a wide variety of alerting solutions based on the OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) Common Alerting Protocol (CAP).
The “CAP All-Hazards Interoperability Demonstration” will be conducted at the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) EMEX 2005 Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona on November 14 -15, 2005.
An international audience of emergency management professionals will be invited to witness the live demonstration that will provide an unprecedented level of interoperability across different public warning systems. The demonstration will include several companies working with the OASIS Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) to allow a consistent warning message to be communicated simultaneously over different alerting systems.
The participants in the demonstration will include Acoustic Technologies Inc. (*ATI*), Defense Group Inc. (*DGI*), Hormann America, Inc., SpectraRep, Warning Systems, Inc. (*WSI*), and local public television station KAET. Together, the capabilities being shown during the CAP Interoperability Demonstration can form the technology core of a standards-based, all-media, all-hazards public warning strategy.
Defense Group Inc. (www.defensegroupinc.com/cobra) will demonstrate the interoperability of its recently released CoBRA® 4.0 software for emergency response management with the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). CoBRA® will be shown using the CAP alert format for sending alerts about hazardous events and receiving alerts from other systems. This capability allows first responders to quickly send alerts and updates to public safety personnel, and to alert the public to dangerous situations. (IAEM EMEX booth 621)
SpectraRep (www.spectrarep.com) will demonstrate its AlertManagerTM, CAP-based alert distribution solution plus next-generation data delivery using local digital television stations. AlertManager will generate alerts (EAS, AMBER, weather and other notifications), gather emergency data, and transmit it via KAET-DT to demonstration participants. Also demonstrated will be emergency alert reception, transmission of training materials, simulated EAS activation, transmission of training and incident data, and interoperability with digital signage and other emergency management tools. KAET-DT/Channel 8 (http://www.kaet.asu.edu) is Arizona’s public broadcaster, reaching over 1.7 million viewers each week. (IAEM EMEX booth 617)
Acoustic Technology, Inc. (www.atisystem.com) will demonstrate the interoperability and functionality of ATI digital warning siren equipment with the (CAP) Common Alerting Protocol. ATI will broadcast warning tones and notification messages from sirens, when energized by the CAP-based activation command. (IAEM EMEX booth 623)
Hormann America (www.hormannamerica.com) will demonstrate the new Emergency Digital Information Service (EDIS). EDIS activates various warning tools, including the statewide Emergency Alert System (EAS) used for Amber, Tsunami and All Hazard Alerts in California. EDIS is CAP compliant and communicates digitally via the Internet and Satellite. EDIS can be activated via any CAP compliant sources such as AlertNet by Hormann America or AlertManager by SpectraRep. (IAEM EMEX booth 619)
Warning Systems, Inc. will take the OASIS CAP message and activate geographically aware Tone Alert Radios (TAR) and the EAS based on that message. The WSI TARS can be the FSK OnAlertTM , or the Two-Tone/DTMF AdaptAlertTM style radios. The WSI AdaptAlertTM activation system can be used to activate existing Two-Tone and/or DTMF radios and/or sirens with provided location information from an OASIS CAP message. WSI offers strobe and text display accessories for the hearing impaired and high noise environments. A relay module is also available to connect your TAR audio to existing public address systems and provide standard contact closures to trigger other alerting devices. (www.warningsystems.com) (IAEM EMEX booth 609)
Scenarios will include simulated chemical HAZMAT incidents, AMBER alerts, Tsunami warnings, and other emergency alert notifications. Simulated All-Hazards alerts will be relayed by emergency alert equipment for television and radio, sirens, tone alert radios, the Internet, mobile devices, and more.
By standardizing on the OASIS CAP 1.1 format, these five companies will be able to take a major step forward in sharing critical, and potentially life saving, information. OASIS CAP enables the exchange of emergency alert and public warning information over data networks and computer-controlled warning systems. The standard allows for a consistent warning message to be communicated simultaneously over different systems.
