Google Goggles for Incident Reporting

We've been experimenting with voice and text based technologies for situational reporting; more specifically, field observation reports that Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members share with the incident management hub.

Can Google's Goggles be an instrument to improve the efficiencies and effectiveness for grassroots CERT members in supplying information. We found the voice-enabled technologies are best suited for developing non-English speaking and lesser computer literate countries like Sri Lanka. Emergency responders are familiar and find it easy to use simple voice calls.

Given that Google's Goggles can record a voicemail and take a photo, a possible Sahan interface may be to use such a device to enable rapid incident reporting. Procedure is simple, tell the story about the incident (of field observation), click a photo, then location and time stamp it, press submit.

Naturally Interactive Voice works for Emergency Communications in Sri Lanka

It's not just Sri Lanka but most developing countries where voice is the predominant mode of communications can be easily adopted for emergency communications. This is my interview with Freedom Fone.

CAP Text not allowed to Speak in USA

The U.S. has banned Emergency Alerting Systems from using Text-To-Speech in broadcasting Common Alerting Protocol generated messages.

Excerpt from the article – Many of those in my community have a hard time understanding the current version of text to speech. In other words, us old folks can’t hear what the computer is saying. There’s also the issue of geographical differences in words. For example, is “soda” and “pop” the same as “soda pop” or “Coke”. If one were to write “I’d like a Coke and fries”, the computer will read that hearer may need more information, ex. “We don’t serve Coke, is Royal Crown Cola OK?”

Here's what I had to say in the LIRNEasia blog relating it to the Freedom Fone and Sahana project.