indiana beachesalert beach notification system for mobile devices thomas w. easterly commissioner...
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Indiana BeachesAlertBeach Notification System
for Mobile Devices
Thomas W. EasterlyCommissioner
Indiana Department of Environmental Management ECOS Innovations Award – September 25, 2011
Indiana BeachesAlert• Mobile application allowing beachgoers to check the status of favorite beaches from any Web-enabled cell phone or mobile device • Shows “real-time” information throughout the beach season• Allows beachgoers to subscribe to e-mail or text alerts about particular beaches
Indiana BeachesAlert• GPS-enabled phones automatically show nearby beaches• Integrates mobile, Web and on-site (QR Code Tagging) technologies for multiple information routes on various devices• Uses HTML 5 web coding for universal mobile device access (iPhone, Droid, Blackberry, etc.)
Indiana BeachesAlert: Location• Monitors 54 (and
counting) public and private beaches
• GPS-enabled devices automatically find regional beaches and mark status via scalable Google maps
• Other devices allow users to select by counties and lists of beaches
Indiana BeachesAlert: Flags • Flags alert beachgoers to conditions at beach • Easy to see and remember “stop light” color-codes are used• Favorite beach closed or under an advisory? The mobile app makes finding a nearby beach open for swimming easy
= Beach Closure
= Beach Advisory
= Beach Open
Indiana BeachesAlert: Closures• The number of active advisories
or closures for all beaches
• Specific location information and beach status
• Date the advisory or closure started
• Link to monitoring data for this beach
• Link to e-mail or text message sign up for this beach (users notified if any changes at that beach)
Indiana BeachesAlert: QR Codes
• Made for smartphones• Can tie physical location
to virtual world • Can be coded for Web
content, links, video or text
• Used to drive traffic and deliver specific content
Indiana BeachesAlert: Other Features• Monitoring data for each beach
from IDEM’s BeachGuard database
• Descriptions of IDEM’s Lake Michigan Beaches Program
• Information on E. coli monitoring and health effects
• Links to beach amenities and maps for each beach
• Links to U.S. EPA mobile app for UV Index
Indiana BeachesAlert: Customer Links
U.S. EPAUV Index Mobile App
Indiana BeachesAlert: How Does It Work? Uses an RSS feed from a third-party vendor database setting behind a
secure firewall (no active data portals through the state firewall)Data is continuously fed out via the RSS feeds to a HTML 5-based
website designed for multiple users and device typesUsing HTML 5 instead of native app development saves time and
money by eliminating multiple apps (one for each type of device) and reduces future maintenance costs
IDEM also used a “joint agreement” with the developer to reduce costs for development and maintenance ◦ Allows developer to “re-sell” idea to other cities or states with an
agreement that the sales defer or eliminate costs for improvements and maintenance
For More Information:
• www.IN.gov/beachesalertVisit IDEM’s BeachesAlert System:
• Mark Amick ([email protected])• Michelle Caldwell ([email protected])• Hala Kuss ([email protected])