Interoperability by 'Edgeware': Wireless Grids for Emergency Response

'Edgeware' for wireless grid connectivity, utilizes open specifications developed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) 'Wireless Grid Innovation Testbed' (WiGiT) to enable greater interoperability across devices, networks, applications, content and services. A wide range of new 'edgeware' applications is emerging for businesses, education, government agencies and individuals. Challenges in emergency response include interoperability, social and human factors. 'Edgeware,' a new class of software designed to share resources across people, devices, services and content has the potential capacity to solve problems of interoperability and control over resources, by the creation of wireless grids. This will allow people to access programs and data on disparate devices, across available wired and wireless networks and provide greater access to resources. Emergency services applications of wireless grids will empower citizens through their devices to contribute to their own community response. The authors describe 'Neighborhood Notification System' gridlets, now in development, which are just the first examples of use of wireless grids for emergency response. The authors conclude that police, fire, EMS, hospitals, municipal services, utilities, gas companies, media, and community residents will benefit from enhanced information sharing in emergencies based on this interoperability by 'edgeware' solution.