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. 2018;23(3):284-296.
doi: 10.1080/1059924X.2018.1470051.

Augmented Reality Farm MAPPER Development: Lessons Learned from an App Designed to Improve Rural Emergency Response

Bryan Weichelt  1 , Aaron Yoder  2 , Casper Bendixsen  1 , Matthew Pilz  3 , Gerald Minor  4 , Matthew Keifer  5
Affiliations

Augmented Reality Farm MAPPER Development: Lessons Learned from an App Designed to Improve Rural Emergency Response

Bryan Weichelt et al. J Agromedicine. 2018.

Abstract

Fire departments have right-of-entry to most commercial industrial sites and preemptively map them to identify the onsite resources and hazards they need to promptly and safely respond to an emergency event. This is not the case for private farms. Emergency responders are blind to resources and hazards prior to arrival and must spend critical minutes locating them during an emergency response at a farm location. The original 2013 Farm Mapping to Assist, Protect and Prepare Emergency Responders (Farm MAPPER) project was undertaken to develop a method to give emergency responders an up-to-date view of on-farm hazard information to safely and efficiently conduct emergency response activities on private agricultural operations. In 2017, an augmented reality version of Farm MAPPER was developed to combine the technological advantages of geographic information system-based data points with a heads-up display and graphical overlay of superimposed hazard imagery and informative icons. The development and testing of this iOS- and Android-ready prototype uncovered lessons learned applicable to other mobile-based apps targeting farmers, ranchers, and rural populations faced with limited or inconsistent mobile internet connectivity.

Keywords: Augmented reality; GIS; emergency responders; farm safety; fire department agriculture; geographic information systems; hazards; injury; mapping; trauma.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Farm MAPPER screenshot, Weichelt Farm.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Farm MAPPER testing with Pittsville FD in 2013.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Farmer field test.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Early conceptual mockup of the MAPPER:AR application.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Google vs. ArcGIS comparison imagery.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. United States Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) – Current and Revised Data. http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm. Published 2016. Accessed July 27, 2017.
    1. USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. Census of Agriculture. https://www.nass.usda.gov. Accessed July 27, 2017
    1. Committee on Agricultural Safety and Health Research and Extension. Agricultural equipment on public roads. Washington, DC: USDA-CSREES; 2009. http://www.topslab.wisc.edu/workgroups/ioh/resources/ag_equipment.pdf. Accessed July 27, 2017.
    1. American Farm Bureau Federation: Newsroom: Fast Facts. http://www.fb.org/newsroom/fastfacts/. Accessed September 13, 2016
    1. FireRescue1 Academy: Top 10 Firefighter Statistics. http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-products/Firefighter-Accountability/arti.... Accessed September 13, 2016.

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