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3 Emerging Technologies That Will ImpactEmergency ManagementElaine Pittman (http://www.emergencymgmt.com/authors/Elaine-Pittman.html) | December 6, 2012

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2. Intellistreets

What if lampposts could detect rising floodwaters and even display theevacuation route (http://www.emergencymgmt.com/disaster/Best-Practices-Evacuating-Communities.html) to help citizens and visitorssafely leave an area? That is what Ron Harwood is trying to do withIntellistreets, an emerging technology that outfits streetlight poles withwireless technology to provide emergency alerting, homeland securityand public safety functions as well as energy conservation.

“The system was invented as a response to the chaos created at streetlevel during 9/11,” said Harwood, president of Intellistreets. The

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company can retrofit existing streetlights if a community isn’t ready to purchase brand-new, high-tech poles, and while thefeatures vary depending on an area’s needs, they can include: emergency alerts, digital signage, hazardous environmentalerts, two-way audio, vehicle impact detection and a pedestrian counter.

Image courtesy of Intellistreets

At its heart, the technology consists of a dual radio mesh wireless system thathas embedded microprocessors, which Harwood said allow for informationgathering, such as analysis of what a streetlight is hearing, seeing, smelling,etc., a method known as edge processing. “The advantage is that firstresponders get real information interpreted into English or graphics that comesright from the site instead of analytics that happen through backhaultechnology and processors,” he said.

Accessed via a Web-based system, operators and first responders can receive analert when an environmental factor triggers the system. Because the technologyis built into each streetlight, the government representative can take action

from a remote location to make pedestrians aware of a situation. Harwood gave the example of outfitting streetlight poleswith water sensors. In an area that has flooding or water main issues, a streetlight with the built-in intelligence wouldactivate a warning light when water reaches a certain depth like being detected above the curb. Other streetlights in the areathat have the technology would begin to flash, warning traffic to slow down.

Intellistreets’ audio features also increase public safety in a two-way fashion. Emergency blue light buttons allow people tosignal for help, and speakers provide a way for government officials to make announcements or issue emergency alerts(http://www.emergencymgmt.com/disaster/Do-Alert-Notifications-Fail-Expectations.html). Digital signs can displaystandard information, such as civic announcements, and then be updated with crucial information like an evacuation routewhen necessary. The system features built-in signage and announcements for standard situations that allow a public safetyrepresentative to click a button on the Web-based system to start audio alerts or change what’s being featured on the digitalsigns. Harwood’s goal is to have an iPad in each patrol vehicle so officers can easily update the messaging when needed.

The technology is not widespread yet, but is being used at Sony Pictures in Culver City, Calif., where the digital signs providedeparture routes during the movie lot’s weekly evacuation exercise.

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Additionally, a demonstration of Intellistreets was installed in Farmington Hills, Mich., last year. Although the localgovernment isn’t using the system’s high-tech tools (http://www.emergencymgmt.com/training/High-Tech-Ambulance-Simulator-Oregon.html), its officials think the features would be beneficial. “I think the potential for them is huge,” said CityManager Steve Brock. “We haven’t used much of the technology that I think is available with regard to messaging, signageand things like that. But when we went through the demonstration of them, when they sort of christened them, if you will, Iwas very impressed with their capabilities and what it could mean in all sorts of environments.”

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Elaine Pittman (http://www.emergencymgmt.com/authors/Elaine-Pittman.html) | Associate Editor

Elaine Pittman is the associate editor of Emergency Management magazine. She covers topics including public safety, homelandsecurity and lessons learned. Pittman is also the associate editor for Government Technology magazine. She can be reached via email and@elainerpittman (https://twitter.com/elainerpittman) on Twitter.

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