[aprssig] FEMA - APRS data mining...

[Robert Bruninga]

FEMA Technical Office would like to mine APRS data for better field data.
The main thing they want is a better way to SEE big pictures concepts
quickly..

For a decade, FEMA uses the "Waffle house index" they get from Waffle house
to show in RED, YELLOW, GREEN, NORMAL coloring attributes on 1700 Waffle
houses throughout hurricane zone so they can see instantly, the big picture
of conditions.

See the FEMA Waffle index!
http://www.popsci.com/article/science/how-waffle-house-became-disaster-indicator-fema

FEMA asked if APRS could do this...

FEMA thought that APRS only had a dozen symbols (They had been watching a
D700 display only),  I pointed out that APRS has always had nearly 200
symbols each with up to 8 color attributes (only APRSdos displays the
colors I think)..., but even those 200 were  expanded in 2008 or so to
nearly 3000 of which over 135 have been defined but most clients have not
painted them all in yet.

This was done through overlays so that  they  are all backwards compatible
on older systems as a base symbol with a letter overlay, but they can be
fully painted out to be a whole new symbol as clients wish.

See: http://aprs.org/symbols/symbols-new.txt

APRSdos had these color attributes on every symbol but this layer was not
implemented by most clients that just  use ICONs.  I believe some clients
have implemented it, but I have not kept up.

Hessu was working on a common updated data base.... (how's that going?)

I asked the FEMA to tell me their top priority symbols and I would see how
well they mapped to APRS symbols and get myself up to speed on where we are
with symbols..

So, I am open for you APRS gurus to fill me in on any progress on symbols
beyond what I have been tracking on http://aprs.org/symbols.html

Important people want to know...

bob, WB4aPR
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