Responders Incident Mapping

This application intercepts Fire Service incident notification sms (text) messages from either the e-text system or Responders messaging system. The location information within those messages is then resolved into Latitude and Longitude by way of a Geocode lookup and placed as a marker on the map showing the address and incident information.

Receipt of an incident message also sounds a preconfigured ringtone for up to 60 seconds providing pager alter type functionality. The alert can be silenced by touching the incident map marker or closing the app. A background service runs continually monitoring received text messages and a fire icon is present in the notification bar of the device to indicate this.

If the incident message has been received from the Responders system a long press of the incident marker or incident message will result in the option to send an attendance message back to the system. This is typically used to indicate the individual is responding to the incident. A custom message or one saved via the "Configuration" menu option can be sent.

Mapping is provided by way of the Open Street Map and OSMDroid projects so all credit to them for the excellent work they do. Map tiles are loaded when the application is used and stored in the osmdroid folder on the sdcard of the device and as such any that have been viewed at whatever zoom level will also be available offline.

Markers identifying important items can optionally be loaded onto the map at runtime. This function is based on the provision of a comma delimited csv file (MapMarkers.csv) within which there are 4 columns being:

Title - This is the type of asset being marked on the map. On the example shown this is various types of water source. Up to 12 different types can be defined and each will be marked on the map with a different coloured marker. The colour of the marker assigned to each item can be controlled to some degree by the order in which the types appear in the csv file.

Description - The description containing the details of the asset listed. This will be displayed when the marker for the item is touched on the screen.

Latitude and Longitude - Self explanatory. These items will be displayed on the screen when a long press is used on a marker.

If the Map Markers file is going to be used it must be must be named "MapMarkers.csv" and must reside in the /sdcard/Android/Data folder of the device.

Once the app runs with or without a successful load of the map markers the base location must be set. This location setting is used to check Geocode lookup is working and also to demonstrate what happens when a valid text message is received from the Responders system and to provide a map start reference if the map markers is not being used. It is also recommended a ring tone be selected that suits the user.

NOTE: If the application is updated a check of the geocode function should be performed (search a valid address) to ensure it is still functional and if not then reboot the Android device. (some unknown google services issue...)

Functions available from the Android menu button are:

Fit Map to Markers - Changes the view of the map so that all markers are visible
Toggle Markers - Turns markers off/on
Configuration - Configures base location and tests Geocode lookup as well as a text string that will trigger a pager type reaction on other than map texts, the Cell number of the Responders system and a preset "attending incident" message
Alarm Sound - Phone ring tone picker
Zoom Lock - Removes the zoom buttons and zoom functions to enable easier panning of an an area to store for offline access without zoom changing
Map Info - Displays credits to Osmdroid and Open Street Maps
About - Info about the app

This app can be used as a generic way of triggering the incident marking function by sending an address to it with "maps?q=" heading the address (per a google search)