The proposed mobile app software tool directly addresses NASA's stated need for disaster response. It leverages and enhances broadly used technologies and platforms such as Ushahidi, Google App Engine, Twitter, Facebook and Google Maps. It enables the layering of real-time social media responses onto geobrowsers such as COAST and Google Earth. This technology can also be used in other NASA applications such as Air Traffic Control and Space Missions.
Platforms like Ushahidi are currently utilized in crowdsourced disaster response web sites and mobile apps. This technology will enhance these sites and applications by enabling semantic parsing of social media and implementation through cloud computing. Homeland security, Department of Defense, and Law Enforcement are some potential users. Hospitals and other healthcare service providers can use this technology for epidemics and pandemics.
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