Texan municipal and federal public safety agencies leverage the latest GIS technologies for disaster management
Liberty Hill, Texas – Tactical Communications, provider of leading technology and services for emergency and disaster communications, today announced an agreement to distribute Surveylab’s Ike1000 series of geospatial field data collection tools in Texas. Texas-based municipal and federal public safety agencies are leveraging emerging GPS and GIS technologies to help measure, monitor, and manage their assets.
“The advent of this new generation of GPS devices, together with sophisticated mapping and asset management software, is transforming the way organizations review and manage assets, perform damage assessments and prepare disaster recovery plans,” said Phil Dolbow, Principal of Tactical Communications, LLC. “The Ike1000 will allow agencies to gather and consolidate data more efficiently, and quickly share or retrieve information, in situations where accurate and rapid responses are required.”
Previously, first responders or wide area assessment teams would carry multiple devices, including a digital camera, separately logging specific locations of each image and manually uploading the information to a computer device. This process not only drained resources and slowed the transfer of critical information to emergency operations centers, but the risk of human error was high. Ike1000’s unique integration of rangefinder, GPS, high accuracy digital compass and camera, means customers need only purchase and travel with one hand-held device and information transfer is easy.
The Ike1000 enables an independent field operative or damage assessment team to discreetly and safely capture GPS positional data, take verifiable geo-tagged photographs, attribute information on geographic features and infrastructure assets, and then export that data to mapping and data visualisation databases.
The Ike1000 was recently debuted during one of the largest Texas Rapid Response Task Force disaster drills ever organized by the State of Texas. This multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional Task Force deploys during major disaster events. This was the first time the Task Force was mobilized for a hurricane drill and sent down range along with the Tactical Communications team.
“Texas agencies are committed to being well prepared to quickly respond to any emergency or disaster situation. Adopting these new technologies and testing them in fully engaged drill environments is an important part of that preparation,” said Dolbow. “The Ike1000 has now proven itself to be an invaluable resource that enables wide area damage assessment teams to effectively and efficiently report situational awareness information back to the Emergency Operations Center. These new tools have proven to provide far deeper and richer data, and improved economies and efficiencies both in the field and back in the EOC.”
About Tactical Communications
Tactical Communications, LLC specializes in providing communications products and systems engineering services for emergency response and disaster communications, technology, and security services to Texas state and federal agencies and the military. Their personnel are certified professionals with military, NSA, ISC2 and Federal Communications Commission licenses and certifications. http://www.tacticalcomms.com/
About Surveylab
Surveylab has been a pioneer in integrated GPS product technology since 2003. The company’s handheld GIS mapping and data collection products have been deployed in military, civil engineering, public safety, disaster management and utility applications by humanitarian, Federal, State and Government agencies. www.ikegps.com.