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Method and system for providing tactical information during crisis situationsRelated Patent Categories: Data Processing: Presentation Processing Of Document, Operator Interface Processing, And Screen Saver Display Processing, Operator Interface (e.g., Graphical User Interface), On-screen Workspace Or Object, Customizing Multiple Diverse Workspace ObjectsMethod and system for providing tactical information during crisis situations description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070044033, Method and system for providing tactical information during crisis situations. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED APPLICATION [0001] The present Application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 10/190,230 filed on Jul. 3, 2002. Ser. No. 10/190,230 is a Non-Prov of Prov (35 USC 119(e)) application 60/326,537 filed on Sep. 24, 2001, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. FIELD OF INVENTION [0002] The invention relates generally to retrieving tactical information during crisis situations. More particularly, the invention relates to a computer-based method and system for storing and retrieving tactical information to respond to crisis situations. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART [0003] Sadly, in recent times, we have become all too familiar with crisis situations such as the Columbine High School shooting incident which left several people dead and many more injured. During that incident, when emergency personnel such as Police, Fire and SWAT personnel responded to the situation, these trained men and women faced many uncertainties that significantly added to the potentially life-threatening risks that they faced--uncertainties which adversely impacted their effectiveness in quickly and safely resolving the situation with minimal risk to civilians and themselves. [0004] For example, during the initial response to the Columbine High School incident when police personnel approached the school premises, they were unaware of the safest, or, more significantly, the most dangerous, route to approach the school buildings and parking lots. For example, they were not aware of which areas were most vulnerable to attack by sniper gun fire while approaching a particular building. They were further unaware of key school personnel to contact, nor did they have access to their contact information. Furthermore, emergency personnel were unaware of building construction and structural information that would have assisted them to strategically plan entry into various building locations. These unknowns, and many others, greatly increased the risk to those individuals responding to the crisis. [0005] As a particular example, when emergency rescue personnel finally entered the buildings, fire alarm sprinklers had flooded the interior rooms, an alarm strobe light was flickering, and an audio alarm was loudly sounding. As a result of these intense stimuli, some of the rescue team members who had prolonged exposure to this environment, suffered from vertigo, which adversely affected their perception and balance. Needless to say, this situation detrimentally affected their effectiveness and posed an otherwise unnecessary risk to these individuals. However, because emergency personnel did not know how to shut off the alarm systems, these strategically undesirable conditions persisted, making an already intensely stressful situation even more difficult. [0006] In light of the exemplary difficulties and problems described above, there is a need for a method and system that can effectively provide critical tactical information to emergency personnel during crisis situations. Because such situations inherently involve high levels of stress and panic, it is desirable that such methods and systems be extremely "user friendly" and allow personnel to quickly and easily obtain a variety of different types of information that may be pertinent to address a particular situation or tactical plan. SUMMARY OF INVENTION [0007] The invention addresses the above and other needs by providing a computer-based method and system for providing critical tactical information to emergency personnel during crisis situations. [0008] In one embodiment of the invention, a system includes a computer (e.g., a personal computer) having a display screen for displaying text, graphic images and video pertaining to critical tactical information requested by a user. In another embodiment, the computer further includes a speaker system to provide audio information to the user. The computer may be a conventional computer known to those skilled in the art and includes, at a minimum, a central processing unit (CPU) for executing program instructions and processing stored data and user inputs, and appropriate memories for storing program instructions, data and user inputs (e.g., a hard drive, ROM, RAM, cache, buffers). In one embodiment, some or all of the program instructions and stored data may be stored on a CD-ROM, wherein the computer includes a CD-ROM drive for reading the CD-ROM and providing instructions and data to the CPU. The computer further includes appropriate input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, etc.) for providing user inputs to the computer. Such computers are well-known in the art and need not be further described in detail herein. [0009] In another embodiment, a method of the invention includes displaying at least two interactive windows wherein a first window contains indicia, icons or controls (e.g., html links), which enable a user to retrieve or view information in the second window (e.g., images, video, text). In a preferred embodiment, a first window is capable of displaying, among other things, a structural outline of building or campus walls. By using a "mouse," for example, a user can click on a desired location in the first window to retrieve and view corresponding images or video in the second window. [0010] In a further embodiment, images in the second window include 360-degree spherical images generated using known digital imaging technologies such as iPiX.TM. and IBM Hot Media.TM. digital imaging, for example. However, it is understood that any other known digital imaging systems and techniques may be used in accordance with the invention. By using 360-degree spherical digital imaging technology, a user can virtually view every aspect of a room on the computer display screen, as if he or she were physically present in the room. In this embodiment, a viewer can "pan" up, down, right or left by dragging a mouse cursor in a desired direction. If the user desires to view the interior of another room, he or she can immediately "jump" to that room by clicking on an appropriate location link or icon in the first screen. [0011] In another embodiment, as the user moves a cursor of a selection device (e.g., a "mouse" device) over certain objects in the room while navigating in the second screen, embedded text will automatically pop up providing critical information about that object. For example, when a mouse cursor pans over a door, a pop-up message may indicate, for example, where the door leads, the material and thickness of the door, which way it opens, and provide the user the option of proceeding through the door. As another example, if the mouse cursor passes over an electrical switch such as a main electrical power shut-off switch, a pop-up message will alert the user to this fact. Pop-up messages can be embedded in a similar fashion for any number of objects that may be of interest in a particular room, e.g., windows, ventilation ducts, ceilings, flooring, closets, electrical and plumbing details, etc. [0012] In another embodiment, a third window is displayed on the computer screen which contains a menu of different types of information which can be displayed in either of the first or second windows, depending on the user's desires. This menu can include items such as geographic or street maps, aerial views, site or campus maps, critical information and telephone numbers, parking lot ingress video, floor diagrams of buildings, etc. In a preferred embodiment, the critical information includes information pertaining to school administrative personnel and their contact information, alarm company information, communications systems information, building construction information, emergency utility shut-off systems, etc. [0013] As explained above, in one embodiment, the computer may execute program instruction and process data stored in a CD-ROM for one or more sites (e.g., Grandview Elementary School). However, it is contemplated that program instructions and data may be stored and retrieved in other desired formats. For example, it is contemplated that program instructions executed by the computer may be stored in the hard drive of the computer, and data to be retrieved and processed by the computer may be stored in a central database that may be accessed by the computer via conventional computer network communications links. Such links would include those utilized in local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), the global computer network (Internet or world wide web), including wireless communication techniques and protocols known in the art. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computer screen display for providing critical information, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0015] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary computer screen display after a user has selected a "top floor" icon from a menu window of the display screen of FIG. 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0016] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary computer screen display after a user has selected a link icon corresponding to a "multi-purpose" room from the "top floor" layout diagram of FIG. 2, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0017] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary computer screen display after a user has selected a door inside the multi-purpose room shown in FIG. 3, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0018] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary computer screen display after a user has selected a link icon corresponding to "room 101" from the "top floor" layout diagram of FIG. 2, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0019] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary computer screen display showing a hallway just outside of room 101 of FIG. 5 after a user has exited room 101, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Continue reading about Method and system for providing tactical information during crisis situations... 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