CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — An app for the iPod developed by two UNC Charlotte professors and several students helps campus police respond to a mass shooting or other any other tragedy that involves multiple victims.
The app uses digital architectural files to create 3-D maps of every campus building. The maps are loaded in iPod Touches carried on the arms of SWAT team members or other first responders, The Charlotte Observer reports (http://bit.ly/LUgK6X).
SWAT officers and the command center can send the locations of officers, the victims, the shooter or other information constantly back and forth.
“The technology is pretty cool. This could definitely be a valuable tool because we could tell where injured people are — because that’s the ultimate thing, saving lives,” said Eric Cox, a SWAT team officer who participated in an exercise with the app Friday.
The app was developed by Bill Ribarsky, chairman of UNC Charlotte’s computer science department and director of the Charlotte Visualization Center, which uses visual analytics to solve complex problems in science, engineering and other disciplines. He was helped by associate professor K.R. Subramanian, graduate students and a research scientist.
The National Institute of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security funded the app’s development, and Ribarsky hopes it can be expanded to more buildings in more places.
The technology for the app was guided by guided by how doctors use high-tech tools for colonoscopies, Ribarsky said.
“The doctor has to navigate and look at each polyp,” he said. “It’s not just flying down the colon.”
Friday’s test had a few glitches — there were problems securing a wireless connection for everyone — but overall, UNC Charlotte Police Chief Jeff Baker was very pleased.
“It exceeded our expectations,” Baker said. “We want as many platforms as possible to assist seeing and sending messages without radios. It’s important to think of the future of safety.”
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Information from: The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotteobserver.com
