collaboration

08/25/06 Friday

Earlier this week I took the ICS/NIMS training and certification class. Today I spent the morning in the ShadowLite Command Center and observed and supported the deployment of multiple sorties to the field to collect demographic data.

The organization chart for Strong Angel / ShadowLite follow the ICS/NIMS model as follows

Strong Angel III Disaster Response Demonstration

PFO - Principle Federal Officer – Eric Rasmussen

Command – This is the facility has overall control of the Incident

IC – Incident Commander, John Gargett
. Command Staff
. . PIO – Press Information Officer, Jamie Imus

08/21 1130 Monday

We brought 3 products to Strong Angel III – Battery Powered Mobile Wi-Fi Router, Solar powered Wi-Fi Video camera and a Solar powered sensor net.

The Mobile Wi-Fi Router is a slam dunk. Just turn it on and in 30 seconds you have Wi-Fi Internet any time and any place (that is if EVDO/1xRTT is enabled). Case in point, the Mobile Wi-Fi router provided Internet service on the Sunday pre-event briefing. The Mobile Wi-Fi camera has some challenges when being deployed in a ‘dynamic’ (read going up/down often) wireless network.

My plan was to socialize the Mobile Wi-Fi Router with potential users and work through the camera issues on Monday PM after the wireless network was up. I got good traction socializing the Mobile Wi-Fi router but the camera was not easy.

Interesting to see how use of ICS/NIMS got participants engaged today. I went out with MedWeb (Shadowlite) to observe and discuss mobile telemedicine. Setup time was about 10 -15 minutes for medical to start, since they do registration records on local server. Took about 1 hr to get uploads via satellite going due to internet connection.

Back at Core Site, found out that one of the cases I sent by web yesterday on Peter Buxtons project actually received a response from a Dr in New Zealand. With all the network problems, that was pretty amazing.

Late afternoon had more interesting discussions, including details of SSE on a Mac.

8/20, 1000 -
Sunday morning the Strong Angel III participants gathered at 10:00 for a pre-event briefing by Dr. Eric Rasmussen, Strong Angel III Director, Dr. Eric Frost, Regional Coordinator, Dave Warner, Shadow Lite Director and Nigel Snoad, Demonstration Design.

Eric R. talked about the world wide representation of technologists, service agencies and humanitarians that have gathered for this integrated disaster response demonstration. He emphasized that this event is not a scripted exercise but a Jazz like impromptu gathering of people prepared to adventure beyond their normal limits and explore the boundaries of what can be accomplished when mere mortals simply agree to collaborate in a honest and sincere manner. Above all, when frustration builds and tempers get short – Keep Smiling.

I've been in San Diego this week at something called Strong Angel III, a project/demonstration/exercise designed to improve responses to emergencies and catastrophes, both those which are natural and caused by humans. Several hundred smart folks looking at technology and its applications in this kind of situation, and as with the last Strong Angel exercise (which took place two years ago on a lava bed in Hawaii), this one is proving immensely educational.

Today I had planned to head out with the Loma Linda Telemedicine group to observe their onsite procedures. The trip was cancelled due to (I understand) their satellite connection being down. I then (tried to) assist Peter Buxton with his exercise in telemedicine for the Swinfen Charitable Trust. Surfed various networks in the AM, but was unable to upload images. After the network was reconfigured in the afternoon, I was able to get web pages and acknowledgements – but the images did not upload. Sigh.

As an Observer looking at medical management during disasters, today showed me again that technology cannot be depended upon – as I also saw in Katrina Relief Medical in Houston. However, a large number of the participants were caught up in their “techno-focus” and so did not reach out to others via personal chat and sneakernet – which *did* happen in Katrina Relief.