Maintaining an accurate Common Operational Picture (COP) is a strategic requirement for efficient and successful missions in both disaster response and battlefield scenarios. Past practices include utilizing cellular, radio, and computer based communication methods and updating individual maps accordingly. A drawback of these practices has been interoperability of these devices as well as accurate reporting and documentation among different entities of the effort.
Recent advances in technology have led to the utilization of collaborative maps for maintaining a COP amongst command centers. Despite the advantages this technique offers, it does not address the difficulties surrounding receiving reports from field entities as well as ensuring these entities also have good situational awareness. The goal of this research is to explore smartphone capabilities in conjunction with cloud computing to determine how they can extend the benefits of collaborative maps to mobile users while simultaneously ensuring command centers are receiving accurate, up-to-date reports from .........
