A research community that includes representatives from a cross section of disciplines — including DHS Centers of Excellence and industry collaborators — has been developing a research and development agenda for Precision Information Environments that enumerates the technical advances necessary to realize the PIE vision. You’ll see components of this agenda called out in the annotated concept video.
What are the highest priority technology needs in the emergency management community to which Precision Information Environments must respond? To capture these requirements and develop a PIE research agenda that responds directly to stakeholder challenges, we’ve performed a domain-based gap analysis that enumerates the pressing technology gaps today. [Updated]
Our tenets are a set of guiding principles that summarize the key elements of the Precision Information Environments user experience. These tenets are informed by end user pain points and offer a collection of metrics the PIE community can use to assess the suitability of its technology.
What might a Precision Information Environment look like? To answer this question, and to establish a conceptual prototype that can guide the PIE research community’s activities over the coming years, we’ve created a vision of the not-too-distant future for emergency management.
This concept video serves as an artifact to guide research and development over the next decade. As you’ll see, a Precision Information Environment is not a single piece of technology — it’s a suite of interoperating capabilities that provide tailored access to information and decision support across the many users, roles and phases of emergency management. Some of these capabilities are on the cusp of broad availability; others represent opportunities for long-term investment.
Take a look at one vision for the future, then view the annotated version that describes in detail each of the technology concepts you’ll see as well as the end user needs that motivated them and the research challenges that must be addressed to make them a reality.
Ready to learn more?
Open our annotated video browser to explore each of the technology concepts in detail:
Please note: For an optimal viewing experience, the PIE video preloads in its entirety before the annotated player begins. Depending on your download speeds, the loading time may be a minute or more. Thanks for your patience.
Managing complex emergencies, from acute incidents to long-term events, demands new approaches to collaboration and decision support. Precision Information Environments will improve the way people interact with each other and with information throughout the emergency management lifecycle, from planning to response, recovery and mitigation.
See how Precision Information Environments might be used in one scenario – then add your comments to the conversation.
What’s a PIE?
Working with stakeholders from across the emergency management community, and with sponsorship from the Command, Control and Interoperability Division Basic/Futures Research program within the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are developing future work environments for emergency management. These Precision Information Environments (or PIEs) will provide tailored access to information and decision support capabilities that adapt to the varying users and phases of emergency management. A PIE will provide analysis and simulation capabilities through novel interactions that transform planning, communication and decision making by first responders, policy makers, and the public.