“A critical component of any successful rescue operation is time. Knowing the precise location of landmarks, streets, buildings, emergency service resources, and disaster relief sites reduces that time -- and saves lives. This information is critical to disaster relief teams and public safety personnel in order to protect life…” http://www.gps.gov/applications/safety/index.html
The Strategic National Stockpile is managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services. The Strategic National Stockpile exists to provide medical supplies to disaster and infectious outbreak victims. Congress provided funds for the Strategic National Stockpile in 1998. The Strategic National Stockpile is designed to provide both pharmaceuticals and vaccines for biological, disease, and chemical threats to citizens. Hundreds of millions of dollars of pharmaceuticals, supplies, equipment, and technical personnel are part of the National Strategic Stockpile.
The Strategic National Stockpile is stored as 12-hour push packages. The push packages weigh nearly 50 tons and fill 130 cargo containers. They can arrive at an airfield in 12 hours or be delivered by truck. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3912/is_200608/ai_n17183189
Once hospital administrators determine a need for pharmaceuticals from the Strategic National Stockpile there are many geographical considerations that must be determined in finding a location to warehouse these supplies.
· Safest area for storage of the stockpile, the hospital’s susceptibility to the disaster, the hospital many need to relocate to avoid becoming part of the disaster,
· The accessibility of the hospital, if people cannot access the hospital, the hospital many need to relocate to provide medical attention, and
· Perimeter of the area affected by the disaster
GPS data could be used to determine the best solutions to these concerns. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BPC/is_12_29/ai_n15965817
Friday, August 29, 2008
GPS Vulnerabilities
Source: Retrieved from http://www.ausairpower.net/TE-GPS-Guided-Weps.html, 29-Aug-08.
As with most signals that are transmitted within the Radio-Frequency (RF) spectrum, the many valuable uses of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals can be denied by anybody with access to the right resources. GPS has very many commercial and military applications, from assisting one in navigating a vehicle on a long-distance road-trip to guiding a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) dropped from a military aircraft to its target. With GPS being such a force-multiplier on today's military battlefield, it is easy to see why an adversary may attempt to deny its use. One concern in the forefront of today's military is adversary employment of GPS jamming.
How can one jam GPS? To begin, anybody desiring to jam GPS is at a power advantage from the beginning. Jamming RF signals in simplistic terms is basically a power battle, sometimes referred to as Jam-To-Signal or J/S ratio. If the J/S ratio is greater than 1, there is more jammer energy going into the victim receiver than the signal itself that the jammer is competing with to overpower. If the J/S ratio is less than 1, then the jammer loses the power battle with the victim receiver and thus does not jam the signal. There are 24 GPS satellites in Medium Earth Orbit transmitting two microwave (D-band) carrier signals, the L1 at 1.57542 GHz and the L2 at 1.2276 Ghz. Due to the relative low power of the transmitted GPS signals and the signal attenuation (power loss as the signal travels from MEO through the atmosphere to the receiver on the earth's surface), the power level of the GPS signal at the reciever on the earth's surface is approximately -160 dBm. This equates to roughly 1/1000 of the power level emitted from a small FM radio station. Source: http://www.ausairpower.net/TE-GPS-Guided-Weps.html. Due to the amount of power transmitted from GPS satellites being so small when the signal arrives at the reciever, it is clear that a more powerful signal transmitted on the GPS frequencies from the earth's surface nearer to the victim GPS receiver (s) can overpower the signal transmitted from the satellite.
GPS jamming can occur from harmonic interference from commercial TV stations and cellular telephone towers, and more maliciously from a hostile adversary with intent to do so. Using a low power jammer radiating a psuedo-noise technique can cause a GPS receiver to "break-lock" from a large distance away. To put this in perspective, a 1W jammer (roughly equivalent to the power of a handheld cellular phone) can deny the use of the L1 signal (common commercial GPS receivers) from 32NM away! Source: http://www.ausairpower.net/TE-GPS-Guided-Weps.html. Military GPS receivers capable of locking onto the encrypted P(Y) code (transmitted on the L1 and L2 carriers) are more resiliant to jamming and require approximately 100W of jamming power at 10NM to "break-lock". Source: http://www.ausairpower.net/TE-GPS-Guided-Weps.html.
There are many concerns regarding how an adversary may choose to exploit GPS vulnerabilities or use GPS to aid them. Some of these concerns include the use of GPS for calibration of ballistic missiles, outfitting 1950s-1960s weapons technology w/ GPS receivers to aid accuracy, or terrorists outfitting or using aircraft equipped with GPS to attack Western targets. In a domestic setting, denial of GPS could have significant impact to a variety of commercial industries, law enforcement, and emergency response agencies due to the increasing numbers of applications that are becoming commonplace. Civil aviation could be a target for GPS jamming, however; most aircraft rely on redundant navigation systems (INS, VOR/TACAN) which would allow the aircrew or pilot to work through the problem. Many commercial communications systems (celluar for example) rely on GPS timing synchronization which could present a vulnerability. Further testing is required to determine specific effects. See paper posted: http://www.gmat.unsw.edu.au/snap/publications/khan&dempster2007a.pdf
Now that the vulnerabilities have been mentioned, it is important to note that there are measures being implemented to prevent the vulnerabilities from being exploited. As with many targets of electronic attack, adversaries continuously work to improve the electronic protection features of various targeted signal types. From a U.S. standpoint, one measure that could be used in a conflict against an adversary that is expected to exploit GPS for the purposes of using it against us would be to jam the enemy's use of the Course Acquisition C/A code while using jam resistant receivers (U.S. equipment) that are only using the encrypted P(Y) code. There are various emerging technologies that are used to reduce the vulnerability of receivers to GPS jamming. These include Controlled Reception Pattern Antennas (CRPA) which electronically form beams in the direction of the satellites to boost the signal relative to the jamming signal. Source: http://www.ausairpower.net/TE-GPS-Guided-Weps.html. Additionally, adding what is called a Nuller to the GPS receiver antenna allows the reciever to suppress its sensitivity in the direction of the detected jamming signal, thus allowing the real signal from the satellite to get through. Source: http://www.ausairpower.net/TE-GPS-Guided-Weps.html. The combination of CRPA and Nuller technology working together can provide approximately a 50 dB improvment in protection against jamming. This difference results in a jammer now has to be only a few miles away from the victim receiver while putting out several kW (significantly more power!) of power to be effective. These type of protection technologies will continue to reduce the amount of vulnerabilites to the ever expanding use of GPS in both commercial and military applications. As this technology proliferates, we can expect jammer technology to become increasingly available to military adversaries and terrorists. See article on homemade GPS jammers: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=77702&pageNumber=2
References:
http://www.ausairpower.net/TE-GPS-Guided-Weps.html
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=77702&pageNumber=2
http://www.gpsjammers.net/
http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/nav/labjam.pdf
GPS and Law Enforcement Applications
For years now, the Global Positioning System (GPS) has been used for many purposes, including military applications, navigation and as a law enforcement aid.
GPS uses 24 satellites at an extremely high altitude, well outside of the atmosphere, to pinpoint the location of a receiver on the ground. Through the process of triangulation (judging the distance from 4, or more, separate satellites) the receiver is able to plot it's near exact location. This is made possible by the receiver being able to judge how far away it is from specifically located satellites at any given time by timing the radio signal being transmitted from each satellite. http://gpsscales.com/intro.htm
The ability to locate a receiver with an extremely small margin of error on the ground has led to many practical uses for the system, especially in law enforcement. One such practical use is in being able to determine the location of police officers during either routine operations or times of crisis.
A police officer may often be faced with extraordinary circumstances without warning. These circumstances can include anything from pulling up on a fight in the street to fighting for their lives at the drop of a hat. Should that police officer be unable, be it due to injury, time constraints or any other factor, to broadcast a sufficient message indicating location, GPS can provide that information to other officers in the area. The ability to provide this assistance is invaluable to a officer in dire need of help.
Not only can GPS can also be used as an office safety tool, it can also be used for a myriad of other law enforcement related functions. One example is being able to pinpoint which officers is closest to a particular location thus providing more timely response to emergency calls and better management of assets. Another example is for tracking, be it a particular individual, such as a sex offender, or a particular vehicle, such as a bait car used to apprehend car thieves. GPS can also be used to keep track of multiple officers and other emergency responders during a large scale crisis. http://www.gisdevelopment.net/technology/gps/techgp0042b.htm
Of course, this type of technology has also bred questions about privacy leading to legal considerations. One such issue is the tracking of suspect vehicles through the use of GPS. How the device is installed, where the vehicle is when it is installed and even where the vehicle is while it is being tracked have been called into question. This is but one example of how this growing technology may be questionned over time as it is used in a law enforcement capacity. http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/2007/july2007/july2007leb.htm#page25
Though GPS will continue to experience growing pains as it is used more frequently in the law enforcement realm, it's negatives seem to be far outweighed by the benefits.
*photo of globe and satellites retrieved 29 Aug 2008 from gpsvehiclenavigation.com
*photo of police car retrieved 29 Aug 2008 from form1.static.flickr.com
GPS and Fire Management
In almost every part of the country, the threat from wildfires exists. With ever expanding cities and developments, this threat has been increasing, and only made worse by extensive droughts across certain parts of the country. As the National Ocean and Atmospheric Association points out, http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2007/fire07.html on average over the past 10 years, there have been an average of over 78,000 wildfires in the United States, burning an average of over 7,000,000 acres a year.
To counter this threat, the emerging technology of GPS can be used to aid both civlians and emergency responders, in an effort to minimize the risk to people and structures. As the following websites show, there are technologies available now that can use GPS on aircraft combined with infrared scanners to create maps of wildfires within minutes, and transmit them to responders in the field. With this technology, real time maps of fires and their "hot spots" will help responders and emergency managers better manage fires, and also be able to safely and more effectively place front line responders.
In addition to the location of fires, using GPS to locate vehicles can also be used in wildfire management. By using GPS, emergency vehicles can be tracked, as well as civilian vehicles that may need to be tracked. www.gpstrackingsystems.biz
The application of GPS use for wildfires has already been tried and tested, specifically in Southern California, which is plagued by raging wildfires almost every year. For example, firefighters in the California area in 2003 were able to get up to the minute data on fire locations thanks to GPS, as opposed to hours old data from morning briefings. With so many structures so close to wild land, the threat is real for people lving on the brink. But with these emerging technologies, handheld GPS technologies can and should be available for every responder on the ground, giving them real time data that can save lives and money.
*photo retrieved on August 28th from www.gpstrakingsystem.biz
GPS - GIS Vehicle Tracking
I really could not go into discussing GPS – GIS vehicle tracking systems without first going into some history of how the GPS system came into existence.
GPS systems have long been used by the military starting in 1978 when the DOD launched its’ first generation of Block I satellites to pinpoint ships and missile silos. GPS satellite systems have come a long way from the early Block I series, and are currently at the Block IIF series launched in 2005. GPS –explained. (2006). Retrieved August 28, 2008, from http://www.kowoma.de/en/gps/satellites.htm
Today the GPS system consists of 24 satellites.
Photo of satellite system retrieved August 28, 2008 from http://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/
How did we come about to be able to use GPS systems since it was in the hands of the DoD? The full 24 Block II satellites were in orbit and functioning in 1993. It wasn’t until March 29th, 1996 that President Clinton and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and National Security Council released their fact sheet entitled “U.S. Global Positioning System Policy” in which they discuss the vast uses of GPS systems for the militray, civil, commercial, and scientific uses. (1996). Retrieved August 28, 2008, from http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/gps/geninfo/global.htm
The “U.S. Global Positioning System Policy” also stated how the GPS systems had something called GPS Selective Availabilty (SA) added as a security feature. What this feature did was introduce an error or degraded the signal used in the GPS system, which made them somewhat inaccurate by up to 100 meters or 300 feet for civilain uses. The military and our allies were the only ones that had the decoders to make the GPS systems extremely accurate again. It was thought that with this degraded signal terrorists would have a harder time accurately pin pointing targets if they used missiles. (1996). Retrieved August 28, 2008 from http://www.pdana.com/AFiles/AF96.html and from http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/gps/geninfo/global.htm
On May 1, 2000 President Clinton issued a statement that would lower the GPS Selective Availability (SA) to Zero, in effect turning it off so that everyone can benefit from the extreme accuracy of GPS systems. (2000). Retrieved August 28, 2008 from http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/FGCS/info/sans_SA/docs/statement.html
Now with GPS Selective Availability (SA) turned off the market for extremely accurate GPS units for civilian use exploded for all types of uses. Scientists, surveying crews, military, Search and Rescue, Fire and Police, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), aircraft, marine, hikers, hunters and fisherman, emergency locator beacons, and let us not forget the all too familiar GPS units for our vehicles to get us from point A to point B, which also can call for help if we need to.
This brings me to what I like about commercial GPS units, that ability to track any vehicle that is equipped with a GPS unit. The commercial and corporate fleets have been using GPS tracking units for some time to track taxis, trucking fleets, and corporate vehicles so they can monitor stops, view locations, the speed of vehicles, and to estimate when a shipment would be delivered. These same GPS units can also help reduce maintenance costs and insurance since these units can verify how fast the vehicles are going at any given time. (2008). Retrieved August 29, 2008 from http://www.fleetilla.com/
To give you an example of what a commercial GPS unit can do please go to http://www.gpsfleetsolutions.com/ for more information.
The same GPS units can be installed on Fire, Police, or Ambulance vehicles. Add to that the use of a GIS system which can be used to locate gas lines and fire hydrants, and you not only have a way to track the vehicles but a way to accurately get that vehicle to its target in the fastest possible way. In an article written by Ewe-Leng Lim, P.E., Chief Knowledge Officer, Institute of Technology for ArcNews Online in 2006 titled Fighting Fires in the 21st Century Mr. Lim describes how in 2004 the City of Hartford Connecticut installed GIS, GPS, and AVL (automatic vehicle location) into their fire trucks and police vehicles.
With the addition of these units Chief of Fire Charles Teale is quoted as saying "Included in the CSI (Community Safety Information) program is the capture of building images from all sides of the building. The goal is to have firefighters get to scenes faster, be better informed ahead of time, and make the public safer."
Deputy Chief Daniel Nolan is quoted after an actual fire with the new system operational "With this system, we were able to identify the hydrants outside of the addresses, the water mains, the sizes of the water mains, and information inside the house—how many children, their ages, if they have any ailments, or if there is anyone with a disability." (2006). Retrieved August 29, 2008 from http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/summer06articles/fighting-fires.html
As can be seen from the information presented by Mr. Lim the marriage of GPS, GIS and AVL can greatly help in the protection of the public safety while also providing safety for the first responders. As technology gets more advanced and GPS units get smaller and smaller in my opinion it won’t be long before every person on the planet will have a GPS unit implanted in them. Now this brings up the ugly issue of Big Brother and the invasion of privacy, but that is an issue for another discussion at a different time, and one that I would love to participate in.
Thanks,
Peter LaFata
GPS systems have long been used by the military starting in 1978 when the DOD launched its’ first generation of Block I satellites to pinpoint ships and missile silos. GPS satellite systems have come a long way from the early Block I series, and are currently at the Block IIF series launched in 2005. GPS –explained. (2006). Retrieved August 28, 2008, from http://www.kowoma.de/en/gps/satellites.htm
Today the GPS system consists of 24 satellites.
Photo of satellite system retrieved August 28, 2008 from http://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/
How did we come about to be able to use GPS systems since it was in the hands of the DoD? The full 24 Block II satellites were in orbit and functioning in 1993. It wasn’t until March 29th, 1996 that President Clinton and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and National Security Council released their fact sheet entitled “U.S. Global Positioning System Policy” in which they discuss the vast uses of GPS systems for the militray, civil, commercial, and scientific uses. (1996). Retrieved August 28, 2008, from http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/gps/geninfo/global.htm
The “U.S. Global Positioning System Policy” also stated how the GPS systems had something called GPS Selective Availabilty (SA) added as a security feature. What this feature did was introduce an error or degraded the signal used in the GPS system, which made them somewhat inaccurate by up to 100 meters or 300 feet for civilain uses. The military and our allies were the only ones that had the decoders to make the GPS systems extremely accurate again. It was thought that with this degraded signal terrorists would have a harder time accurately pin pointing targets if they used missiles. (1996). Retrieved August 28, 2008 from http://www.pdana.com/AFiles/AF96.html and from http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/gps/geninfo/global.htm
On May 1, 2000 President Clinton issued a statement that would lower the GPS Selective Availability (SA) to Zero, in effect turning it off so that everyone can benefit from the extreme accuracy of GPS systems. (2000). Retrieved August 28, 2008 from http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/FGCS/info/sans_SA/docs/statement.html
Now with GPS Selective Availability (SA) turned off the market for extremely accurate GPS units for civilian use exploded for all types of uses. Scientists, surveying crews, military, Search and Rescue, Fire and Police, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), aircraft, marine, hikers, hunters and fisherman, emergency locator beacons, and let us not forget the all too familiar GPS units for our vehicles to get us from point A to point B, which also can call for help if we need to.
This brings me to what I like about commercial GPS units, that ability to track any vehicle that is equipped with a GPS unit. The commercial and corporate fleets have been using GPS tracking units for some time to track taxis, trucking fleets, and corporate vehicles so they can monitor stops, view locations, the speed of vehicles, and to estimate when a shipment would be delivered. These same GPS units can also help reduce maintenance costs and insurance since these units can verify how fast the vehicles are going at any given time. (2008). Retrieved August 29, 2008 from http://www.fleetilla.com/
To give you an example of what a commercial GPS unit can do please go to http://www.gpsfleetsolutions.com/ for more information.
The same GPS units can be installed on Fire, Police, or Ambulance vehicles. Add to that the use of a GIS system which can be used to locate gas lines and fire hydrants, and you not only have a way to track the vehicles but a way to accurately get that vehicle to its target in the fastest possible way. In an article written by Ewe-Leng Lim, P.E., Chief Knowledge Officer, Institute of Technology for ArcNews Online in 2006 titled Fighting Fires in the 21st Century Mr. Lim describes how in 2004 the City of Hartford Connecticut installed GIS, GPS, and AVL (automatic vehicle location) into their fire trucks and police vehicles.
With the addition of these units Chief of Fire Charles Teale is quoted as saying "Included in the CSI (Community Safety Information) program is the capture of building images from all sides of the building. The goal is to have firefighters get to scenes faster, be better informed ahead of time, and make the public safer."
Deputy Chief Daniel Nolan is quoted after an actual fire with the new system operational "With this system, we were able to identify the hydrants outside of the addresses, the water mains, the sizes of the water mains, and information inside the house—how many children, their ages, if they have any ailments, or if there is anyone with a disability." (2006). Retrieved August 29, 2008 from http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/summer06articles/fighting-fires.html
As can be seen from the information presented by Mr. Lim the marriage of GPS, GIS and AVL can greatly help in the protection of the public safety while also providing safety for the first responders. As technology gets more advanced and GPS units get smaller and smaller in my opinion it won’t be long before every person on the planet will have a GPS unit implanted in them. Now this brings up the ugly issue of Big Brother and the invasion of privacy, but that is an issue for another discussion at a different time, and one that I would love to participate in.
Thanks,
Peter LaFata
GPS Enables Police to Track Suspect
Police have turned to GPS to help them track suspected offenders. The technology allows law enforcement to track/trail suspects without the large manpower requirements of the past. No longer do the police need multiple tail vehicles or observers. For more examples of this use of GPS technology, follow the links provided below:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/12/AR2008081203275.html
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/12/local/me-gps12
While many may argue that the use of GPS in this context is a violation of the Fourth Amendment, the technology is helping to make the streets of our nation safer.
For those individuals who feel GPS will be misused by law enforcement, it is also being used by cities to monitor their officers. GPS units mounted in patrol cars are being used to track police vehicle locations and speed. This provides a safer environment for both officers and the general public. The location feature enables back-up officers to locate officers who are out of communication with dispatch, allows for more efficient vectoring of patrol cars to emergency call locations, and prevents officers from straying off their assigned patrol areas. The speed feature provides departments with ways of determining responsibilty in high speed accidents. Officers will be more conscience about how fast they drive in certain situation, possible avoiding a collision or injury.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/12/AR2008081203275.html
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/12/local/me-gps12
While many may argue that the use of GPS in this context is a violation of the Fourth Amendment, the technology is helping to make the streets of our nation safer.
For those individuals who feel GPS will be misused by law enforcement, it is also being used by cities to monitor their officers. GPS units mounted in patrol cars are being used to track police vehicle locations and speed. This provides a safer environment for both officers and the general public. The location feature enables back-up officers to locate officers who are out of communication with dispatch, allows for more efficient vectoring of patrol cars to emergency call locations, and prevents officers from straying off their assigned patrol areas. The speed feature provides departments with ways of determining responsibilty in high speed accidents. Officers will be more conscience about how fast they drive in certain situation, possible avoiding a collision or injury.
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