Improving the Communication of Spatial Information in Crisis Response by Combining Paper Maps and Mobile Devices

摘要

Efficient and effective communication between mobile units and the central emergency operation center is a key factor to respond successfully to the challenges of emergency management. Nowadays, the only ubiquitously available modality is a voice channel through mobile phones or radio transceivers. This makes it often very difficult to convey exact geographic locations and can lead to misconceptions with severe consequences, such as a fire brigade heading to the right street address in the wrong city. In this paper we describe a handheld augmented reality approach to support the communication of spatial information in a crisis response scenario. The approach combines mobile camera devices with paper maps to ensure a quick and reliable exchange of spatial information.