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SRA International, Inc. Strategy and Performance Group (formerly Touchstone Consulting Group)
This is the second of three articles exploring peer-to-peer communications and how these technologies could impact the timeliness and relevance of emergency alerting.
Last week I wrote about the basics of peer-to-peer alerting for mobile devices and how peer networks might facilitate the dissemination of alerts. In this article I provide several examples of technologies that demonstrate the first of two types of peer networks called “mesh” networks.
To recap from Part I: in a mesh network all devices that have some kind of peer relationship, talk to each other, and co-exist as equal peers. As devices move out of the network and form new ones with new peers, information is continually shared. Continue reading »
This is the first of three articles exploring peer-to-peer communications and how these technologies could impact the timeliness and relevance of emergency alerting.
Mother Nature often provides terrific insight when looking for inspiration and innovation. The invention of VELCRO is a perfect example. When we search for improvements to alert dissemination, we need look no further than the 22,000 species of ants that traverse our planet.
The first lesson we can learn is that ants rely on more than one method for notifying each other of new sources of food or imminent threats. As we look more closely at our own systems it may help to examine alerting methods where ants are more successful than we are. The second lesson we can learn is that ants require no more infrastructure than what they already have on their bodies–a very efficient use of resources. Continue reading »
General Motors recently announced a new addition to its line of vehicles: a pedestrian detection system that uses a peer-to-peer wireless technology to alert the driver to nearby pedestrians in hopes of avoiding deadly collisions. Essentially, this system will allow the car’s onboard computer to detect wi-fi signals from surrounding wireless devices. As the image below illustrates, these signals could be used to warn the driver of pedestrians heading near the vehicle. Presumably the technology would also enable the pedestrian’s device to warn him/her of oncoming cars.
