TENDOTec stands for Technology Enhanced Natural Disaster Operational Threat Response. It’s a collaborative program that helps disaster response agencies and their partners prepare for, mitigate against, and recover from natural disasters more quickly. And to understand that better, let’s look at the acronym TENDOTec again. The Technology part of TENDOTec refers to high-tech tools like GIS mapping software, drones, artificial intelligence (AI), and virtual reality (VR) tools as they apply to responding to natural disasters. The Enhanced bit of the equation means more than just upgrading existing technology. It also requires additional layers of redundancy and new ways for partners to securely share data without sacrificing privacy or security in the process. Coupled together, TENDOTec is a framework for sharing data between agencies and trusted partners across multiple systems using a common set of protocols, standards, and dictionaries so that all parties can work from an accurate common view of what’s happening in real time during an emergency response or disaster drill scenario.
What Is the TENDOTec Framework?
The TENDOTec framework is the set of protocols, standards, and dictionaries that allow organizations to securely connect their respective systems and share data during a disaster response or other operational scenario. The goal of TENDOTec is to help organizations improve their ability to respond to and recover from disasters. To that end, agencies can use TENDOTec to securely share real-time data across different systems and apply technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve their decision-making capabilities. For example, an agency might use TENDOTec to ingest real-time information about road closures from partner organizations and use AI to identify deviations from expected road patterns and send that information to the organizations that need it most.
Why Is TENDOTec Important?
The significance of TENDOTec lies in the fact that it brings together organizations that might not otherwise be able to securely share data during a disaster response or disaster drill scenario. For example, if an agency uses one system to manage its GIS mapping data and another to manage its other data (e.g., traffic-flow information, incident information, evacuation orders, public-health alerts, etc.), it might not be able to securely share those systems in real time during an emergency response. That means the response agency might be missing data that could improve its decision-making capabilities, support decision-makers, and help the agency respond more quickly and effectively. TENDOTec can help solve this problem by providing a framework for securely sharing data across different systems.
TENDOTec’s Benefit to Disaster Responders
TENDOTec provides the following benefits for disaster responders: – Data from multiple agencies can be viewed on a single common operational picture. This single view of the situation allows responders to coordinate their efforts more efficiently and effectively. – Data sharing is done over a secure connection, so data is protected from tampering and unauthorized access. – Data can be sent and received at a higher speed, allowing responders to make decisions based on real-time information. – Data is automatically updated, reducing the time and effort needed to manually update information. – Data is more accurate, because it is shared and verified by multiple agencies. – Data is more comprehensive, because it includes information from multiple agencies that may not otherwise be shared. – AI can be used to make better and higher-quality decisions.
What Is a Common Operational Picture?
The term common operational picture (common COP) refers to a single visual display of information that combines real-time data from multiple sources to provide a more complete picture of the situation. For example, if a city’s public-health department uses a GIS mapping application to track the locations of people who are sick, that data doesn’t appear on the same visual display that shows the locations of other first responders and other key stakeholders. A common COP would display the locations of the sick people, the locations of first responders, and the locations of other critical stakeholders on the same visual display so that all the information is visible at a single glance.
How Does AI Enhance Disaster Response?
AI can be used to scan and analyze data from multiple sources and perform complex calculations in a fraction of the time it would take a human. For example, AI can be used to collect data from emergency call dispatchers, 911 systems, and social media and use that data to automatically generate and update a common operational picture that shows the current situation and identifies areas that need more attention. The AI can also be used to automatically identify patterns and deviations in that data that might otherwise go unnoticed by humans. For example, AI might identify patterns in the way certain types of emergency calls are being made, which could indicate that a certain community is in need of more assistance. The same AI could also identify deviations from the expected patterns, which might indicate that a certain type of call is being made in an unexpected way.
Conclusion
Disasters often happen without warning and can disrupt multijurisdictional operations. This can make it difficult for responders to coordinate efforts effectively and efficiently. Technology that allows agencies to securely share data can help solve this problem by improving the ability of agencies to respond to and recover from disasters. The TENDOTec framework allows agencies to securely share data and apply technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve decision-making capabilities. A common operational picture that displays information from multiple sources allows responders to better visualize the situation and coordinate efforts more effectively and efficiently.
