Communication devices




There are primarily two major types of communication devices: those for individual people and those for groups of people. Public Communication Devices are the devices that are designed to deliver a communication to more than one person as a single process at the same time. Examples include a digital electronic sign, a loud speaker that is part of a PA system, or a large flat panel display on a wall. A private communication device is a device that is designed to deliver communication to one person at a time through a single process. Typically, a single person is in control of such a device which is usually not shared. Examples include a cell phone, a text message on the cell phone, an email, or a message over a 2 way radio.

Public and shared devicesedit

Public communication refers to the conveyance of messages to people, in such a way that anyone may receive the communication at nearly the same time as anyone else, typically using a common device. The most common way of facilitating public communications is by using devices that are incorporated into some public venue, such as public-address systems or digital signage. Using public devices for the purpose of public warning empowers people at risk to take actions to reduce losses from natural hazards, accidents, and acts of terrorism.

Private devicesedit

"Private" means the delivery of messages to a specific individual, in a private manner or in such a way that even those nearby may not get the message. Common ways of facilitating private communications involve devices such as telephones or electronic mail.

Mobile phonesedit

Mobiles phones may be considered a private communication device, because they are usually associated with or owned by a single individual. One possible limitation of using mobile phones for emergency communications, in a bomb-threat situation, for example, might include the potential of cellular networks being disabled for fear that a bomb might be detonated using a cellular phone. They also provided wide array of apps that can help in emergency communications.

Line-based phonesedit

These phones, in whole or in part (e.g. a cordless telephone with base station), are physically connected to and rely upon a wire (often called a landline) to operate. As with mobile phones, these are often associated with a single person, family or business. Regardless, this method may be considered private due to a single phone device’s inherent weakness in reaching large numbers of people at the same time.

SMS/Text messagingedit

SMS text messages should be considered a type of private communication because they are directed toward a specific mobile phone number; and, thus, they are designed to reach one person at a time without the general public knowing anything about the message. A limitation in using SMS messaging for emergencies might be that it doesn't meet the needs of emergency communication: that is, it must be highly reliable, be secure, have excellent access control, and high-speed delivery.

Social Media - Syndicated Emergency Communicationsedit

  • Twitter is an online social networking and micro-blogging service using SMS text messaging. While it wasn't intended or designed for high performance communication, the idea that it could be used for emergency communication certainly was not lost on the originators, who knew that the service could have wide-reaching effects early on, when the San-Francisco, California-based company used it to communicate during earthquakes.
  • Facebook may have potential for emergency communication, as it has a large involved user-base.citation needed

Electronic mailedit

Email should be considered a type of private communication because it is sent to a specific email address, which is associated with a person. Emails can be sent to multiple people, but even this results in multiple individual copies of the email that are ultimately sent to their individual recipients.

Emergency-oriented instant messengers and computer screen pop-upsedit

Personal computer instant messengers have become popular and inexpensive technologies by which to deliver emergency communications to broad or specific audiences in a short period of time. With this technology, emergency communications will "pop up" on the personal computer screens as a new window that sits on top of any other window that may be open on the screen at the time. This technology uses LAN and/or WAN networks to deliver short messages, often less than about 120 characters in length, typically in real time. The speed of modern LAN and WAN technologies and the shortness of such messages makes it possible to deliver emergency messages to thousands of computer screens in less than a minute's time.
In private communications, a computer pop-up can be targeted to a specific user, i.e. one that is logged into the computer or is associated with that computer in some way. The emergency communication system should be able to define the relationship between the user and his or her computer. A potential limitation of this is that if a user is not logged in, then the operating system may not allow any messages to display.
In the case of public-oriented emergency communications, a computer pop-up ability might prove useful for public computers or interactive kiosks where more than one person might use it, or for computers with displays that are in prominent locations. In this case, the pop-up might also need to be easily read from a distance, and be able to get attention — similar to how a digital sign may be used. These might be structured as a notification window with static non-moving text, or as a window with scrolling text.
Emergency communications may require certain attributes that are not commonly found in standard instant messengers; here is a list of attributes that may prove valuable to emergency-oriented instant messengers:
  • Prevents the user from killing the program, which would prevent the delivery of emergency messages.
  • Delivers emergency messages in a large font that can be easily read a substantial distance from the screen.
  • Scrolls the message across the screen to attract attention and to ensure that the entire message can be displayed without any user effort. Scrolling the message may also allow for the use of a large font and readability from a distance.
  • Non-chat-oriented, ensuring that the software will be set up for a large scrolling font.
  • Supports many priorities for messages, ensuring that emergency messages are not lost in the crowd of common messages that may appear in the computer screen.
  • Supports a non-counterfeit-able signature as part of the message to insure the recipient that the communication can be trusted and that it comes from a known authority.
  • Supports both one-to-one and one to many communication.
  • Emergency-oriented instant messenger requires that the sender of the message have the ability to update messages that are appearing on users PC screens without the recipient needing to take any action.
  • The sender of an emergency message must have the ability to terminate the display (remove) a message from display on all of the screens that display the message by closing the window in which it is displayed.
  • Supports communications to arbitrary groups of PC, by lists of PC, by lists of users, and by IP address ranges. Each of these addressability options are optimal in specific circumstances and reduce the labor of administration.
Using instant messaging for emergency communications may also present some limitations:
  • If the PC is not connected to the network, it will not display the message. This means that the network is another potential point of failure.
  • If the PC is logged off or if the screen saver is active and requires a password to access the screen, then conventional knowledgeclarification needed posits that it will prevent the delivery of the emergency message.
In addition to some well-known instant messengers, for example ICQ and AIM, a variety of specialized instant messengers exist that are intended for use in emergency communications. The commercially-available products sold by RedAlert and Desktop Alert are examples of specialized instant messengers that claim to provide a relatively narrow set of message delivery capabilities within a smaller subset of an overall ECS. Other commercial offerings MessageNet Connections, React Systems, and Siemens Sygnal also provide instant messengers that are sold to be used in conjunction with other communication equipment such as phones, and digital signage as part of an integrated and whole emergency communication system.

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Attributes

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