iCode receives its third Trademark

Admittedly, this is a late post but we received official Trademark Registration notice for “FireCast” from the USPTO a little while ago.

Costs of Wildfire in California report released!

The CALIFORNIA COUNCIL ON SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (CCST) has released a report for download (https://ccst.us/reports/the-costs-of-wildfire-in-california-2/) funded by partners at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. This report summarizes the state of knowledge regarding wildfire losses and their associated costs across key sectors. It challenges the assumptions underlying current fire management policies and proposes a novel framework for understanding the total cost of wildfire in California. The results of this study suggest opportunities for policy makers to improve the effectiveness of wildfire management in California by enabling regional approaches, increasing investments in mitigation and resilience strategies, and accounting for the cumulative public health impacts of exposure to multiple fire events.

This report includes several recommendations, including ES.6 - “California should create and manage a systematic, comprehensive data clearinghouse for wildfire events including wildfire smoke, prevention and mitigation, losses including health, societal and ecological impacts, and associated costs. Models exist for this type of clearinghouse in the CalEnviroScreen and the California Open and Transparent Water Data Platform. Such a clearinghouse could be established via an extension and expansion of the recently established Wildfire Forecast and Threat Integration Center.

Senate Bil No. 209 Chapter 405 (http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB209) was recently amended relating to Wildfires. Excerpts are provided herein.

8586.7. (a)

(1) The office and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall jointly establish and lead the Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center.

(2) The Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center’s primary mission shall be to collect, assess, and analyze fire weather data, atmospheric conditions, and other threat indicators that could lead to catastrophic wildfire and to reduce the likelihood and severity of wildfire incidents that could endanger the safety of persons, property, and the environment by developing and sharing intelligence products related to fire weather and fire threat conditions for government decisionmakers.

(3) The Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center shall serve as the state’s integrated central organizing hub for wildfire forecasting, weather information, and threat intelligence gathering, analysis, and dissemination, and shall also coordinate wildfire threat intelligence and data sharing among federal, state, and local agencies, tribal governments, utilities, and other service providers, academic institutions, and nongovernmental organizations.

8586.7. (b)

(1) The Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center shall be comprised of representatives from the following organizations:

(A) The Office of Emergency Services.

(B) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

(C) The Public Utilities Commission.

(D) The Military Department.

(E) The University of California.

(F) The California State University.

(G) The California Utilities Emergency Association.

(H) At least one representative of investor-owned utility companies, appointed by the President of the Public Utilities Commission.

(I) At least one representative of publicly owned utilities, appointed jointly by the Director of Emergency Services and the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection.

(J) Other members as designated jointly by the Director of Emergency Services and the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Apple Silicon

We received a long awaited delivery today, and as of this afternoon iCode is one of the first developers creating applications on Apple’s Silicon platform! The future is very exciting indeed!


Apple Silicon.jpg

Wildfire Community Preparedness Day (May 2nd)

iCode supports getting the message out about Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, May 2nd 2020

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has created Prep Day to raise awareness of wildfire risk, to share information and knowledge, and to help residents make changes to improve the survival of their homes and neighborhoods.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has created Prep Day to raise awareness of wildfire risk, to share information and knowledge, and to help residents make changes to improve the survival of their homes and neighborhoods.

FireCast Pro showcased at Aerial Fire Fighting North America 2020

Under the joint innovation project with AeroComputers Inc (ACI) of Oxnard California, iCode updated their FireCast® Gateway to interface to ACI’s proven UC-6000 and their emerging AC-7000 mission computers. 

During the Aerial Fire Fighting North America 2020 Conference in Sacramento (4-5 March) iCode publicly revealed their FireCast® Pro mobile application for first responders equipped with iPhone and iPad mobile devices. iCode will be releasing a companion FireCast® Community edition app later this year for general public use.

A key feature recently incorporated into the FireCast® Pro mobile app is the ability to receive, store and display digital Fire Perimeters generated by AeroComputer’s AC-7000 mission computer. This feature expedites the delivery of tactically actionable information to teams of first responders in, around, and above the wildfire operating area.

Among other features, the FireCast® Pro app is also able to receive position updates from Aircraft participating in Wildfire operations, Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) updates, and the location of Firefighters equipped with an Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAC), and the location of other FireCast® Pro equipped first responders.

The FireCast Pro - a native iPhone or iPad mobile app, can receive and overlay Fire Perimeters such as this one from the Maria Fire captured by the emerging AC-7000 mission computer from AeroComputers Inc.

The FireCast Pro - a native iPhone or iPad mobile app, can receive and overlay Fire Perimeters such as this one from the Maria Fire captured by the emerging AC-7000 mission computer from AeroComputers Inc.

iCode takes second place in StartUps Ventura County 2018 Challenge

Startups Ventura County (SVC) Announces 2018 Winners

CAMARILLO, Calif. (PRWEB) April 27, 2018

Camarillo Chamber of Commerce, the hosting organization of Startups Ventura County (SVC), formerly known as Startup Weekend Ventura County (SWVC), announces today that SVC 2018 startup competition held on April 20th through 22nd has awarded $20,000 in cash to Food Origins and $5,000 in cash to iCode. Both startups also have each received $5,000 in in-kind awards consisting of professional services and are given the right to use SVC’s cowork space located at Camarillo Airport for free for a period of one year. 

“A total of 24 startups applied to compete in SVC 2018,” says Gary Cushing, CEO of Camarillo Chamber of Commerce. “A committee appointed by our CEO Judge Panel selected 16 teams to participate in our two and a half day event. Five teams made it to the final round on Sunday afternoon. They are Aztec Vision Systems, Level Eight Technology, Food Origins, iCode and Rooi Digital. Each team was given 25 minutes, including Q&A, to present their startup idea to a panel of 14 CEO/COOs from Ventura County. After a long deliberation, the panel selected Food Origin as the winner and iCode as the runner-up."

“Startup Ventura County has evolved into a powerful event attracting talented teams well on their way to commercializing a viable product,” comments Chris Meissner, Chair of SVC’s CEO Judge Panel. “Selecting the top 5 teams for the final round was difficult for the judges, but selecting the top two teams was exponentially more difficult. After an hour of deliberation, the 13 judges selected the winners but the process of weighing each team was exhausting. Each team had characteristics that made them contenders and all of the judges expressed a hunger to know the continuing story as the teams continue to mature. After the many hours we spent with them, it was clear to me that all of the judges have become emotionally vested and hope each team succeeds.”

“The competition provided fun and excitement but our mission was much more than that,” adds Martin Shum, organizer of SVC. “Once a year, we asked CEOs and senior executives of significant local companies as well as successful entrepreneurs to come together to mentor and advice entrepreneurs. We believe gaining access to decision makers, domain experts, industry veterans and entrepreneurs who have been there and done that are the ultimate value SVC provides to its participants."

 

Mapbox used to distribute Thomas Fire Perimeter updates to the world

Open data for Thomas and Ventura firesSharing imagery to track and respond to fires

Open data for Thomas and Ventura fires

Sharing imagery to track and respond to fires

By: Camilla Mahon

As wildfires rip through Ventura, California we’re partnering with DigitalGlobe to share imagery and critical data through their Open Data Program. DigitalGlobe is publicly releasing their satellite imagery for Ventura and surrounding communities and will expand coverage based on the fire’s reach.

DG has worked with us to use this imagery to update our fire tracking map, a tool we shared during the Northern California wildfires earlier this year. The map includes address search and zoom features that allow you to check specific areas in or near the fire zones, and it includes the latest fire perimeters provided by first responders on the ground.  As we saw in the NorCal fires, this imagery can be crucial in coordinating responses as well as providing much needed information to those forced to evacuate.

25074772_1738533872885783_2150734567148103648_o.jpg

iCode's FireCast Pro mobile application leverages rendering Wildfire Fire Perimeter content via the Mapbox® Engine.  Process once, deploy everywhere! 

 

Gamification

Ya-kai Chou developed the Octalysis Framework, which is used assessing and applying different motivation factors that you might (or might not) apply to a Gamified solution.  Ya-kai presents an abbreviated introduction to the 8 Core Drivers detailed in the Octalysis Tool (see http://www.yukaichou.com/octalysis-tool/ for an interactive version). 

iCode is applying the Octalysis Framework to analyze various Gamified solutions for potential customers.

Calling 911

HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - 911

HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - 911

On the May 15th recording of the HBO Series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, John highlighted the current limitations to the 9-1-1 infrastructure and the challenges 9-1-1 call takers and dispatchers must overcome due to the drastic increase in mobile 9-1-1 calls.  John Oliver rightly pointed out how Americans across the country trust 9-1-1 and rely on 9-1-1 call takers in their worst moments.  While there are over 6,400 9-1-1 Call Centers in the US many are not able to respond to the onslaught of calls they can receive when anything more than a minor crisis occurs.  Moreover, with over 70% of all 9-1-1 calls originating from cellular phones the utility of legacy location services (tied to the physical location of landline phones) the need for wireless location solutions is needed. 

To help address this issue, internet-technology is being leveraged to create Next Generation 911 (NG9-1-1) capability that can accept more than voice calls from yesteryear's Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) / Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) callers, adding the ability to request assistance via text and video – eventually from any internet-connected device.  NG9-1-1 also provides 9-1-1 with a platform that can quickly grow to match the needs of the community, share emergency services between communities, and even send all calls to a different 9-1-1 call center in the event of an outage or large-scale disaster. All of these are difficult or impossible to do with today’s 9-1-1 network.  NG9-1-1 also provides a way to send data “alongside” a 9-1-1 call. For example, imagine placing a call for 9-1-1, and having your name, frequented addresses, pre-existing medical conditions, and emergency contacts instantly available to 9-1-1 and First Responders.  Imagine placing a call from a large university campus, a shopping mall, or a corporate facility knowing that First Responders know exactly where to go to gain access to the building, and are able to reference floor plans to know exactly where to find you.  While NG9-1-1 provides a way to send such data, it does not provide tools to collect, store, validate, and manage this complex data. NG9-1-1 is also an emerging technology. It has taken a nearly a decade to develop the standards and get a small fraction of the nation’s 9-1-1 call centers on line. Yet even in these areas, you cannot send video or data alongside an emergency call with the NG9-1-1 network in place – more work remains.

Enhanced 9-1-1 (E911) is a solution designed to provide both caller location and identification.  Instead of merely using the billing address for a wireless subscriber - a location that may not remotely represent where the wireless device resides in the here and now, an alternate method is needed, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has outlined several requirements which wireless network operators must support.  This includes requirements to identify the cell tower used by 9-1-1 callers (Phase 1 of the program), and now the location (Lat/Lon) of the caller within 300 yards (Phase 2 of the program).  Carriers were allowed to choose to implement 'handset based' location by Global Positioning System (GPS) or similar technology in each phone, or 'network based' location by means of triangulation between cell towers.

Technologies such as the Smart911 software offered by Rave Mobile Safety acts as a bridge between NG9-1-1 and the E9-1-1 implementations, providing information (managed in a national database) on millions of individuals, and thousands of education, business, healthcare, and government facilities.  The goal is to provide the right information at the right time, directly impacting the outcome of an emergency, and peoples lives.   

iCode receives our second US Trademark - 5,048,361

iCode received its second US Trademark (27 Sept 2016).  This particular trademark captures the Mobile and Unmanned Solutions product lines iCode is bringing to market.  We want to thank all of those involved in supporting our initial journey, and we look forward to our roll out of innovative solutions for the First Responder community in the not too distant future.   

Pop over for some Coffee

There's something about having your first sip of Coffee each morning in your very own iCode Trademark (TM) Mugs...