For decades, emergency alerts relied on traditional television and radio broadcasts to reach the public. As younger generations abandon traditional media sources, however, emergency officials have to get creative in how they message emergency communications.
Futuri’s BEACON, the Broadcast Emergency Alerts and Communications Operations Network, is harnessing artificial intelligence to transform how emergency managers analyze and disseminate life-saving information.
I spoke with Marc Jaromin, director of public safety platforms at Futuri, about the benefits of BEACON, and how AI-powered data management and dissemination is the future of emergency communications.
How BEACON works
Designed to gather emergency information from multiple sources into one accessible system, BEACON provides an efficient way to distribute critical alerts across multiple platforms, ensuring emergency professionals have access to real-time updates.
Step 1: BEACON compiles all publicly available federal, state and local government communication
BEACON is an overlay of existing information, Jaromin said. “IPAWS has all the government information from NOAA and national weather alerts to [U.S. Department of Homeland Security] notifications. The state information can come from the state control center, all the way down to the local school districts.”
Step 2: BEACON translates alerts into any additional languages based on officials’ designations
The system uses AI and geo-targeting to automatically translate alerts for second-language speakers as set by officials.
More than 20% of non-English speaking populations miss out on traditional emergency communications, Jaromin said: “That’s exactly what this is designed to address.”
Step 3: BEACON sends geo-targeted push alerts across TV, radio, streaming and mobile devices
The media mosaic of social media, broadcast, push notifications and other one-off forms of communication make it difficult to ensure alerts are posted everywhere they are needed.
“How do you get to mobile? How do you get to streaming? How do you get to social and not tax the emergency manager?” Jaromin asked. “Enter it once and let the system take care of all of that.”
The power of AI in emergency management
AI is at the core of BEACON’s efficiency. By leveraging AI, emergency alerts are processed and distributed quickly, with more accuracy and enhanced information for specific populations.
“AI is a tool, and it allows emergency managers to focus in on what they want to focus in on,” he said. “They’ve got to get the right information out at the right time to the right people. Let the system do the work, and that’s what AI does. That’s the art of artificial intelligence.”
Expanding from alerts to communications
Due to the system’s ability to geo-target and push to multiple platforms and devices quickly, emergency managers can also use BEACON to send additional information (e.g., where the closest shelters are after a tornado or a pre-blizzard reminder to wrap outside pipes).
“The public information officers are really interested in this,” Jaromin said. During the most recent winter freeze in Florida, officials were pushing emergency communications through BEACON to share cold weather guidance.
“I learned, in the freeze in North Florida, the four Ps of winter preparedness in Florida — people, plants, pets and pipes,” he said. “As an event or as a season is coming, PIOs and the communication teams are preparing their communities, ‘This is what you need to know.’ And that information, again, is available across all platforms, your device of choice.”
The future of emergency alerts
Regardless of a state’s size, emergency management officials are tasked with ensuring every resident receives timely, accurate and informative alerts. Using a system like BEACON and its AI powers to more efficiently distribute information may be the answer.
“As consumer behavior has changed, this addresses it,” Jaromin said. “It’s not that emergency managers aren’t getting the information out in real time. It’s not that they’re not doing their job well. [The messages] were just falling in the cracks. This addresses it.”
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