Danger warning and emergency response system and method

• US 6,084,510 A
• Filed: 04/18/1997
• Issued: 07/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Jerome H. Lemelson, Robert D. Pedersen
• Original Assignee: Jerome H. Lemelson, Robert D. Pedersen
• Inventors: Lemelson, Jerome H., Pedersen, Robert D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Crosland, Donnie L.
• Application Number:
  US08/844,029
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539, 340/905, 340/990, 340/517, 340/518, 340/601, 342/26, 342/27, 342/46, 342/352, 342/357, 342/362, 342/367, 342/385, 342/450, 342/451, 342/457, 348/135, 348/143, 348/144, 348/148, 348/149, 382/103, 382/104, 701/200, 701/207, 701/208, 701/209, 701/210
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/17 Emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 15/004 using portable personal devices hand-held or body-worn self-defence devices using repellent gases or chemicals F41H9/10
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/10 responsive to calamitous events, e.g. tornados or earthquakes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

Surveillance platforms in airborne craft (8,10), land based vehicles (12), vessels at sea or fixed structures (14) detect dangers using conventional scanners and transmit information signals describing the dangers to a control center (2) which analyzes the data and determines the degree of danger and its geographic extent. The center generates a danger warning and emergency response including a danger index. The warning/response message identifies the degree of danger (danger index 144) and the GPS coordinates (142) of the impacted geographic area for a wide region or regions of the earth (FIGS. 2-6). A vulnerability index (FIG. 16) determined using neural networks (FIGS. 13-14) and fuzzy logic (FIGS. 15-20) enables a prioritized warning/response. The center broadcasts (18) the danger warning and emergency response (FIG. 9) to a large population of remotely located warning devices (11), such as a network of pagers each of which has a GPS receiver (6,28). The pagers compare the received danger coordinates with their own GPS coordinates and each pager determines the extent to which it is in danger. The warning device automatically issues a warning signal or signals, which may be audible, visual or vibratory, appropriate to the degree of danger. Emergency manned vehicles may also directly receive the broadcast warning/response and be immediately alerted to act appropriately relative to the degree of danger. One embodiment broadcasts (16) directly to home T.V.'"'"'s and radios (17) which have internal GPS receivers and which display/annunciate an emergency message customized to that receiver resulting from the internal comparison of the danger coordinates versus the local receiver coordinates.

Claims

1. A method of providing an automated, wide area, danger warning and emergency response comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting a dangerous situation from a detection location,

(b) transmitting information signals describing the dangerous situation from the detection location via radio transmission signals to a control center for analysis,

analyzing the received information signals in the control center in computer systems employing expert system technology,

(d) determining in the control center the degree of danger and its geographic extent based on analysis of the received information signals,

(e) generating in the control center a danger warning and emergency response including a danger index indicating a degree of danger within at least one geographic area,

(f) broadcasting the danger warning and emergency response from the control center to a plurality of remotely located warning devices each of which has a GPS receiver and the ability to calculate its own location in GPS coordinates,

(g) receiving via the broadcast signals the danger warning and emergency response in the remotely located warning devices, and comparing in each remotely located warning device the coordinates of the dangerous situation with its own GPS coordinates for determining the extent to which each remotely located warning device is in danger, and

(h) automatically issuing from each remotely located warning device a warning corresponding to the extent to which the issuing remotely located warning device is in danger.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the detecting step further comprises the step of:

surveying the earth from at least one surveillance platform.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the surveying step further comprises the step of:

surveying the earth from a satellite.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the surveying step further comprises the step of:

surveying the earth from an airborne craft.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the surveying step further comprises the step of:

surveying the earth from a balloon.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein the surveying step further comprises the step of:

surveying the earth from a ground based mobile unit or vehicle.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein the surveying step further comprises the step of:

surveying the earth from a stationary structure.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein the surveying step further comprises the step of:

surveying the earth with equipment or personnel supported on the platform.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of surveying the earth with equipment or personnel supported on the platform further comprises the step of:

surveying with a video scanning camera.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of surveying the earth with equipment or personnel supported on the platform further comprises the step of:

surveying with an infrared scanner.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of surveying the earth with equipment or personnel supported on the platform further comprises the step of:

surveying with a chemical detector.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of surveying the earth with equipment or personnel supported on the platform further comprises the step of:

surveying with an infrared detector or sensor.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of surveying the earth with equipment or personnel supported on the platform further comprises the step of:

surveying with an image or surveillance signal analyzer.

14. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of surveying the earth with equipment or personnel supported on the platform further comprises the step of:

surveying using a neural network.

15. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of surveying the earth with equipment or personnel supported on the platform further comprises the step of:

surveying with a high speed vector processor or parallel processing system.

16. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of surveying the earth with equipment or personnel supported on the platform further comprises the step of:

surveying using a human surveyor.

17. The method of claim 2 wherein the surveying from a platform step further comprises the steps of:

surveying from one or more platforms each having a GPS receiver, determining the GPS coordinates of each surveillance platform, and estimating the GPS coordinates of the detected danger when offset therefrom.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the broadcasting step further comprises the step of:

transmitting GPS coordinates of the surveillance platform.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the analyzing by employing expert system technology step further comprises the step of:

analyzing by employing fuzzy logic and fuzzy inference rules.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of analyzing by employing expert system technology further comprises the step of:

using expert knowledge database retrieval and relating the stored database information to the type of danger and the location of dangerous situations.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining step further comprises the step of:

defining the geographic extent in GPS coordinates.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining step further comprises the step of:

defining the geographic extent as bounded be the radii of two circles centered on a dangerous situation whose center is defined by GPS coordinates.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the defining step further comprises the step of:

further defining the geographic extent as bounded by angular sectors between the radii.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of indicating a degree of danger further comprises the step of:

deriving a danger index from a defined parameter.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the deriving from a defined parameter step further comprises the step of:

deriving a danger index from the distance between the dangerous situation and a particular warning device.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein the deriving from a defined parameter step further comprises the step of:

deriving a danger index from the rate at which the dangerous situation may be approaching a particular warning device.

27. The method of claim 24 wherein the deriving from a defined parameter step further comprises the step of:

deriving a danger index from the vulnerability of a person or property associated with a particular warning device to a particular dangerous situation.

28. The method of claim 24 wherein the deriving from a defined parameter step further comprises the step of:

deriving a danger index from the type of a particular dangerous situation.

29. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating step further includes the step of:

defining a vulnerability index for a particular area depending upon the presence of a particular structure, natural resource, or population density of the area.

30. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating step further comprises the step of:

establishing an emergency response dispatch priority using vulnerability factors characterizing different geographic regions.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the dispatch priority establishing step further comprises the step of:

analyzing the vulnerability of a particular structure to one type of a dangerous situation and the vulnerability of people to another type of dangerous situation.

32. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating step further comprises the step of:

displaying in the control center the results of the surveillance and analysis of signals received from the surveillance platforms to alert an operator thereof of the dangerous situation in the surveyed region.

33. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating step further comprises the step of:

alerting the operator of the control center with warning sounds representative of signals received from the surveillance platform indicative of the dangerous situation in the surveyed region.

34. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating step further comprises the step of:

communicating to an operator of the control center the results of the surveillance and analysis of signals received from the surveillance platforms to alert the operator to the dangerous situation in the surveyed region.

35. The method of claim 1 wherein the broadcasting step further comprises the step of:

transmitting the danger warning and emergency response via a radio link to a pager satellite network and then to the warning device.

36. The method of claim 1 wherein the broadcasting step further comprises the step of:

transmitting the danger warning and emergency response via a radio link to a ground based pager network and then to the warning device.

37. The method of claim 1 wherein the broadcasting step further comprises the step of:

transmitting the danger warning and emergency response via a radio link to a ground based broadcast network and then to the warning device.

38. The method of claim 1 wherein the broadcasting step further comprises the step of:

transmitting messages containing a plurality of danger indices and geographic coordinates identifying the regions corresponding to each danger index.

39. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating and broadcasting steps further comprise the steps of:

generating and broadcasting synthetic speech describing a plurality of danger indices and geographic coordinates identifying regions corresponding to each danger index.

40. The method of claim 1 wherein the broadcasting step further comprises the step of:

identifying predefined danger emergency warning areas and a danger index for each such area relative to an identified dangerous situation.

41. The method of claim 1 wherein the broadcasting step further comprises the step of:

broadcasting to remote warning devices located on persons, in mobile land vehicles, in airborne craft, on vessels at sea, or in stationary structures.

42. The method of claim 1 wherein the comparing step further comprises the step of:

comparing the GPS coordinates of the dangerous situation.

43. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

determining that the remotely located warning device is located within the geographic area defined by the GPS coordinates of the dangerous situation, and, then, activating warning signals indicating the degree of danger which was communicated via the danger index in the received signals.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein the activating step further comprises the step of:

depending upon the location of the remotely located warning device, different degrees of danger existing relative to the nature of the dangerous situation as indicated by the received broadcast signals, and

if the remotely located warning device be located within a geographic area defined as having a very high danger, then that device indicating via an audible, visual, vibratory or other warning device the existence of a very dangerous situation.

45. The method of claim 43 wherein the activating step further comprises the step of:

depending upon the location of the remotely located warning device, different degrees of danger existing relative to the nature of the dangerous situation as indicated by the received broadcast signals, and

if the warning device be located in an area adjacent to a very dangerous situation, then that device indicating via an audible, visual, vibratory or other warning device the existence of a less than very dangerous situation.

46. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

receiving the danger warning and emergency response in a remote control center which dispatches and controls emergency response services to assist in alleviating the dangerous situation.

47. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

dispatching emergency services based on a priority index derived from both danger and value indices.

48. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

controllably dispatching emergency services based on a priority index derived from both danger and value indices.

49. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

receiving the broadcast danger warning and emergency response directly in emergency response vehicles manned by emergency personnel located in the most dangerous areas who, upon decoding the danger warning and emergency response will immediately know that they are in the proximity of the dangerous situation and may immediately respond accordingly.

50. The method of claim 49 further comprising the step of:

determining the locations of such emergency response vehicles or persons by using GPS technology.

51. The method of claim 1 wherein the broadcasting step further comprises the step of:

broadcasting the danger warning and emergency response via a conventional communication network.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein the broadcasting via a conventional communication network step further comprises the step of:

broadcasting via a television network.

53. The method of claim 51 wherein the broadcasting via a conventional communication network step further comprises the step of:

broadcasting via an AM/FM radio network.

54. The method of claim 51 wherein the broadcasting via a conventional communication network step further comprises the step of:

broadcasting via a cable network.

55. The method of claim 51 wherein the broadcasting via a conventional communication network step further comprises the step of:

broadcasting via a fiber optic network.

56. The method of claim 51 further comprising the step of:

receiving a danger index including geographic coordinates defining regions appropriate to each degree of danger corresponding to the geographic area in which the receiver is located indicating the degree of danger in which users located in particular areas may find themselves.

57. The method of claim 1 wherein the remotely located warning device is a television receiver further comprising the step of:

receiving on the television receiver the danger warning and emergency response and displaying on the display screen thereof an emergency message customized to the location of the television.

58. The method of claim 57 further comprising the step of:

identifying in the emergency message the danger and its position from the display screen based on information resulting from a comparison of electronic data from different sources occurring within the television receiver.

59. The method of claim 1 wherein the remotely located warning device is a radio receiver further comprising the step of:

receiving on the radio receiver the danger warning and emergency response and annunciating from the radio an emergency message customized to the location of the radio receiver.

60. The method of claim 59 further comprising the step of:

identifying in the emergency message the danger and its position from the radio annunciator based on information resulting from a comparison of electronic data from different sources occurring within the radio.

61. The method of claim 1 wherein the remotely located warning device is a receiver-computer further comprising the steps of:

receiving in the receiver the danger warning and emergency response and displaying on a display screen of the receiver-computer an emergency message customized to the location of the receiver-computer.

62. The method of claim 61 further comprising the step of:

identifying in the emergency message the danger and its position from the display screen based on information resulting from a comparison of electronic data from different sources occurring within the computer.

75. The method of claim 17 or 72 further comprising the step of:

determining the coordinates of the remotely located home radio receiver using a ranging mechanism.

78. The method of claims 1, 63, 64, 71, or 72 further comprising the step of:

short wave transmitting codes from a remotely located warning device to the control center indicating that the select danger warning signals have been received.

79. The method of claims 1, 63, 64, 71, or 72 further comprising the steps of:

maintaining selected ones of the remotely located warning devices in a stand-by mode, and

transmitting from the control center control signals to said selected ones to switch from the stand-by to a full-receive mode enabling receiving messages from the control center.

63. The method of providing an automated, danger warning and emergency response in a selected area of a plurality of areas worldwide comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting a dangerous situation from at least one of a plurality of surveillance locations or platforms worldwide,

(b) transmitting first information signals modulated with information relating to the dangerous situation from the surveillance platform or location via radio transmission signals to a warning command control center for analysis,

analyzing the first received information signals in the warning command control center in a computer system employing expert system technology,

(d) determining at the warning command control center the degree of danger and its geographic extent based on analysis of the received information signals,

(e) generating at the warning command control center a danger warning and emergency response including a danger index indicating a degree of danger within at least one geographic area,

(f) broadcasting the danger warning and emergency response from the warning command control center to a plurality of remotely located information indicating devices in an area selected relative to the geographic area having the indicated degree of danger,

(g) receiving via the broadcast signals the danger warning and emergency response in the remotely located information indicating devices, and comparing in each such remotely located information indicating device the coordinates of the dangerous situation with its own coordinates for determining the extent to which personnel near each remotely located information indicating device are in danger, and

(h) automatically issuing from each remotely located information indicating device a warning corresponding to the extent to which the issuing remotely located information indicating device is in danger.

65. The method of claim 63 or 64 wherein the information indicating device is a television further comprising the step of:

a user programming the location coordinates of the television into the television receiver.

66. The method of claim 63 or 64 wherein the information indicating device is a television further comprising the step of:

deriving the location coordinates of the television from an internal GPS receiver-computer located in the television.

67. The method of claim 63 or 64 wherein the information indicating device is a television further comprising the step of:

determining the coordinates of the remotely located home television using a ranging device.

68. The method of claim 63 or 64 wherein the information indicating device is a television further comprising the step of:

determining the coordinates of the remotely located home television using a radio ranging system.

69. The method of claim 63 or 64 wherein the information indicating device is a television set further comprising the steps of:

receiving on the television set the danger warning and emergency response and displaying on the display screen of the television set an emergency message customized to the location of the television set.

70. The method of claim 69 further comprising the step of:

identifying in the emergency message displayed the danger and its position from the television screen.

64. The method of providing an automated, danger warning and emergency response in a selected area of a plurality of areas nationwide comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting a dangerous situation from at least one of a plurality of surveillance locations or platforms nationwide,

(b) transmitting first information signals modulated with information relating to the dangerous situation from the surveillance platform or location via radio transmission signals to a warning command control center for analysis,

analyzing the first received information signals in the warning command control center in a computer system employing expert system technology,

(d) determining at the warning command control center the degree of danger and its geographic extent based on analysis of the received information signals,

(e) generating at the warning command control center a danger warning and emergency response including a danger index indicating a degree of danger within at least one geographic area,

(f) broadcasting the danger warning and emergency response from the warning command control center to a plurality of remotely located information indicating devices in an area selected relative to the geographic area having the indicated degree of danger,

(g) receiving via the broadcast signals the danger warning and emergency response in the remotely located information indicating devices, and comparing in each such remotely located information indicating device the coordinates of the dangerous situation with its own coordinates for determining the extent to which personnel near each remotely located information indicating device are in danger, and

(h) automatically issuing from each remotely located information indicating device a warning corresponding to the extent to which the issuing remotely located information indicating device is in danger.

71. The method of providing an automated, wide-area, danger warning and emergency response comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting a dangerous situation from a surveillance platform,

(b) transmitting information signals describing the dangerous situation from the surveillance platform via radio transmission signals to a warning command control center,

analyzing the received information signals at the warning command control center using a computer system employing expert system technology,

(d) determining at the warning command control center the degree of danger and its geographic extent based on analysis of the received information signals,

(e) generating at the warning command control center a danger warning and emergency response including a danger index indicating a degree of danger within at least one geographic area,

(f) broadcasting the danger warning and emergency response from the warning command control center to a plurality of remotely located home radio receivers,

(g) receiving via the broadcast signals the danger warning and emergency response at the remotely located home radio receivers, and comparing at each remotely located home radio receiver the area or earth coordinates of the dangerous situation with its own area coordinates for determining the extent to which each remotely located home radio receiver location is in danger, and

(h) automatically issuing from each of a plurality of remotely located home radios a warning corresponding to the extent to which the issuing remotely located home radio is in danger.

73. The method of claim 71 or 72 further comprising the step of:

programming the location coordinates of the home radio into the home radio receiver.

74. The method of claim 71 or 72 further comprising the step of:

deriving the location coordinates of the home radio from an internal GPS receiver located in the home radio.

76. The method of claim 71 or 72 further comprising the step of:

receiving on the home radio receiver the danger warning and emergency response and annunciating from the home radio receiver an emergency message customized to the location of the home radio.

77. The method of claim 76 further comprising the step of:

identifying in the emergency message the danger and its position from the radio annunciator.

72. The method of providing an automated, wide-area, danger warning and emergency response to multiple population areas comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting a dangerous situation from a plurality of surveillance platforms,

(b) transmitting information signals describing the dangerous situation from the surveillance platform via radio transmission signals to a warning command control center,

analyzing the received information signals at the warning command control center in a computer system employing expert system technology,

(d) determining at the warning command control center the degree of danger and its geographic extent based on analysis of the received information signals,

(e) generating at the warning command control center a danger warning and emergency response including a danger index indicating a degree of danger within multiple areas under surveillance,

(f) broadcasting the danger warning and emergency response from the warning command control center to a plurality of remotely located home radio receivers,

(g) receiving via the broadcast signals the danger warning and emergency response at the remotely located home radio receivers, and comparing at each such remotely located home radio receiver the area or earth coordinates of the dangerous situation with its own coordinates for determining the extent to which personnel near each remotely located home radio receiver is in danger, and

(h) automatically issuing from each remotely located home radio receiver a warning corresponding to the extent to which the issuing remotely located home radio receiver location is in danger.

80. An automated, wide area, danger warning and emergency response system comprising:

(a) a surveillance platform located at a detection location supporting a first device for detecting a dangerous situation,

(b) a first transmitter for sending information signals describing the dangerous situation from the surveillance platform via radio transmission signals to a control center for analysis,

a computer system in the control center employing expert system technology for analyzing the received information signals,

(d) a computer system in the control center for determining a degree of danger and its geographic extent based on the analysis of the received information signals, and for generating a danger warning and emergency response including a danger index indicating a degree of danger within at least one geographic area,

(e) a second transmitter for broadcasting the danger warning and emergency response from the control center to a plurality of remotely located warning devices each of which has a GPS receiver and the ability to calculate its own location in GPS coordinates,

(f) a receiver in each of the remotely located warning devices for receiving via the broadcast signals the danger warning and emergency response and for comparing in each remotely located warning device the coordinates of the dangerous situation with its own GPS coordinates for determining the extent to which each remotely located warning device is in danger, and

(g) a second device coupled to each remotely located warning device for automatically issuing a warning corresponding to the extent to which the issuing remotely located warning device is in danger.

81. The system of claim 80 wherein the first detection device further comprises:

one or more surveillance apparatuses supported on one or more platforms for surveying the earth selected from the group including satellites, airborne craft, balloons or ground based unites or mobile vehicles or stationary structures.

82. The system of claim 81 wherein the surveillance apparatus further comprises:

one or more equipment or personnel supported on one or more platforms and selected from the group including video scanning cameras, infrared scanners, chemical detectors, infrared detectors or sensors, image or surveillance signal analyzers, neural networks, high speed vector processing or parallel processing systems, or human surveyors.

83. The system of claim 81 wherein the surveillance apparatus further comprises:

a GPS receiver for determining the GPS coordinates of the surveillance platform and for estimating the GPS coordinates of the detected danger when offset therefrom.

84. The system of claim 80 wherein the information signals further comprise:

GPS coordinates of the surveillance platform.

85. The system of claim 80 wherein the computer system employing expert system technology further comprises:

fuzzy logic and fuzzy inference rules.

86. The system of claim 80 wherein the expert system technology further comprises:

an expert knowledge database which employs retrieval of stored database information relating to the type of danger and the location of dangerous situations.

87. The system of claim 80 wherein the geographic extent is defined in GPS coordinates.

88. The system of claim 80 wherein the geographic extent is bounded by the radii of two circles centered on a dangerous situation whose center is defined by GPS coordinates.

89. The system of claim 88 wherein the geographic extent is bounded by angular sectors between the radii.

90. The system of claim 80 wherein the danger index is derived from one or more parameters including the distance between the dangerous situation and a particular warning device, the rate at which the dangerous situation may be approaching a particular warning device, the vulnerability of a person or property associated with a particular warning device to a particular dangerous situation, or the type of a particular dangerous situation.

91. The system of claim 80 wherein the danger warning and emergency response includes a vulnerability index for a particular area depending upon the presence of a particular structure, natural resource, or population density of the area.

92. The system of claim 80 wherein the danger warning and emergency response further comprises:

an emergency response dispatch priority based on vulnerability factors characterizing different geographic regions.

93. The system of claim 92 wherein the dispatch priority is based on a particular structure having a vulnerability to one type of a dangerous situation and people having a vulnerability to another type of dangerous situation.

94. The system of claim 80 further comprising:

a display in the control center of the results of the surveillance and analysis of signals received from the surveillance platforms to alert an operator thereof of the dangerous situation in the surveyed region.

95. The system of claim 80 further comprising,

a device for issuing warning sounds to alert an operator of the control center representative of the results of the surveillance signals received from the surveillance platform indicative of the dangerous situation in the surveyed region and the analysis thereof.

96. The system of claim 80 further comprising:

an annunciator for communicating to an operator of the control center the results of the surveillance and analysis of signals received from the surveillance platforms to alert the operator to the dangerous situation in the surveyed region.

97. The system of claim 80 wherein the second transmitter further comprises:

a transmitter for transmitting the danger warning and emergency response via a radio link to a pager satellite network and then to the warning device.

98. The system of claim 80 wherein the second transmitter further comprises:

a transmitter for transmitting the danger warning and emergency response via a radio link to a ground based pager network and then to the warning device.

99. The system of claim 80 wherein the second transmitter further comprises:

a transmitter for transmitting the danger warning and emergency response via a radio link to a ground based broadcast network and then to the warning device.

100. The system of claim 80 wherein the broadcast danger warning and emergency response further comprises:

messages containing a plurality of danger indices and geographic coordinates identifying the regions corresponding to each danger index.

101. The system of claim 100 wherein the message is presented in the form of synthetic speech.

102. The system of claim 80 wherein the broadcast danger warning and emergency response further comprises:

predefined danger emergency warning areas and a danger index for each such area relative to an identified dangerous situation.

103. The system of claim 80 wherein the second transmitter broadcast further comprises:

a transmitter for broadcasting to remote warning devices located on persons, in mobile land vehicles, in airborne craft, on vessels at sea, or in stationary structures.

104. The system of claim 80 wherein the receiver further comprises:

a comparator for comparing the GPS coordinates of the dangerous situation.

105. The system of claim 80 further comprising:

a calculator in the remotely located warning device for determining that it is located within the geographic area defined by the GPS coordinates of the dangerous situation, and, then, activating warning signals indicating the degree of danger which was communicated via the danger index in the received signals.

106. The system of claim 105 further comprising:

depending upon the location of the remotely located warning device, and different degrees of danger existing relative to the nature of the dangerous situation as indicated by the received broadcast signals, an audible, visual, vibratory or other warning device activated by the remotely located warning device for signaling the existence of a very dangerous situation if the remotely located warning device be located within a geographic area defined as having a very high danger.

107. The system of claim 105 further comprising:

depending upon the location of the remotely located warning device, and different degrees of danger existing relative to the nature of the dangerous situation as indicated by the received broadcast signals, an audible, visual vibratory or other warning device activated by the remotely located warning device for signaling the existence of a less than very dangerous situation if the warning device be located in an area adjacent to a very dangerous situation.

108. The system of claim 80 further comprising:

a remote control center for receiving the danger warning and emergency response and which dispatches and controls emergency response services to assist in alleviating the dangerous situation.

109. The system of claim 80 further comprising:

emergency services dispatched based on a priority index derived from both danger and value indices.

110. The system of claim 80 further comprising:

emergency response vehicles manned by emergency personnel located in the most dangerous areas who receive the broadcast danger warning and emergency response directly, and upon decoding the danger warning and emergency response will immediately know that they are in the proximity of the dangerous situation and may immediately respond accordingly.

111. The system of claim 110 further comprising:

the locations of the emergency response vehicles or persons being determined by using GPS technology.

112. The system of claim 80 wherein the second transmitter broadcasts the danger warning and emergency response via a conventional communication network selected from the group including television, AM/FM radio, cable, and fiber optic.

113. The system of claim 112 further comprising:

the receiver in the remotely located warning device receiving a danger index including geographic coordinates defining regions appropriate to each degree of danger corresponding to the geographic area in which the receiver is located indicating the degree of danger in which users located in particular areas may find themselves.

114. The system of claim 80 wherein the remotely located warning device is a television set further comprising:

a television receiver receiving the danger warning and emergency response and a display screen for displaying an emergency message customized to the location of the television.

115. The system of claim 114 further comprising:

the emergency message identifying the danger and its position from the television receiver based on information resulting from a comparison of electronic data from different sources occurring within the television receiver.

116. The system of claim 80 wherein the remotely located warning device is a radio set further comprising:

a radio receiver receiving the danger warning and emergency response and an annunciator for issuing from the radio an emergency message customized to the location of the radio receiver.

117. The system of claim 116 further comprising:

the emergency message identifying the danger and its position from the radio receiver based on information resulting from a comparison of electronic data from different sources occurring within the radio receiver.

118. The system of claim 80 wherein the remotely located warning device is a receiver-computer further comprising:

the receiver receiving the danger warning and emergency response and a display screen for displaying an emergency message customized to the location of the receiver-computer.

119. The system of claim 118 further comprising:

the emergency message identifying the danger and its position from the receiver-computer based on information resulting from a comparison of electronic data from different sources occurring within the receiver-computer.

120. An automated, danger warning and emergency response system for a selected area of a plurality of areas nationwide or worldwide comprising:

(a) a surveillance platform located at at least one of a plurality of detection locations supporting at least one of a plurality of first devices for detecting a dangerous situation,

(b) a first transmitter for sending first information signals modulated with information relating to the dangerous situation from the surveillance platform or detection location via radio transmission signals to a warning command control center for analysis,

a computer system at the warning command control center employing expert system technology for analyzing the received first information signals,

(d) a computer system at the warning command control center for determining a degree of danger and its geographic extent based on the analysis of the received information signals, and for generating a danger warning and emergency response including a danger index indicating a degree of danger within at least one geographic area,

(e) a transmitter for broadcasting the danger warning and emergency response from the warning command control center to a plurality of remotely located information indicating devices in an area selected relative to the geographic area having the indicated degree of danger each of which devices has a GPS receiver and the ability to calculate its own location in GPS coordinates,

(f) a receiver in each of the remotely located information indicating devices for receiving via the broadcast signals the danger warning and emergency response in the remotely located information indicating devices, and comparing in each remotely located information indicating device receiver the coordinates of the dangerous situation with its own coordinates for determining the extent to which each remotely located information indicating device is in danger,

(g) a second device coupled to each remotely located information indicating device receiver for automatically issuing a warning corresponding to the extent to which the issuing remotely located information indicating device is in danger.

121. The system of claim 120 wherein the information indicating device is a television set further comprising:

the location coordinates of the television being programmed into the television set receiver by a user.

122. The system of claim 120 wherein the information indicating device is a television set further comprising:

the location coordinates of the television set deriving from an internal GPS receiver-computer located in the television set.

123. The system of claim 120 wherein the information indicating device is a television set further comprising:

a ranging device for determining the coordinates of the remotely located home television.

124. The system of claim 120 wherein the information indicating device is a television set further comprising:

the television receiver receiving the danger warning and emergency response and a display screen for displaying an emergency message customized to the location of the television receiver.

125. The system of claim 124 further comprising:

the emergency message displayed identifying the danger and its position from the television set.

132. The system of claims 80, 120, or 126 further comprising:

a short wave transmitter for transmitting codes from a remotely located warning device to the control center indicating receipt of the select danger warning signals.

133. The system of claims 80, 120, or 126 further comprising:

selected ones of the remotely located warning devices operable in a stand-by mode, and switchable to a full-receive mode for reviewing messages from the control center upon receipt of an enabling control signal from the control center.

126. An automated, wide area, danger warning and emergency response system for multiple population areas comprising:

(a) a plurality of surveillance platforms each supporting one or more first devices for detecting a dangerous situation,

(b) a first transmitter for sending information signals describing the dangerous situation from the surveillance platform via radio transmission signals to a warning command control center,

a computer system at the warning command control center employing expert system technology for analyzing the received information signals,

(d) a computer system at the warning command control center for determining a degree of danger and its geographic extent based on the analysis of the received information signals, and for generating a danger warning and emergency response including a danger index indicating a degree of danger within multiple areas under surveillance,

(e) a radio transmitter for broadcasting the danger warning and emergency response from the warning command control center to a plurality of remotely located home radio receivers each of which has a GPS receiver and the ability to calculate its own location in GPS coordinates,

(f) a radio receiver in each of the remotely located home radios for receiving via the broadcast signals the danger warning and emergency response in the remotely located home radios, and comparing in each remotely located home radio receiver the area or earth coordinates of the dangerous situation with its own coordinates for determining the extent to which each remotely located home radio receiver location is in danger, and

(g) each remotely located home radio receiver having a second device coupled thereto for automatically issuing a warning corresponding to the extent to which the issuing remotely located home radio receiver location is in danger.

127. The system of claim 126 further comprising:

the location coordinates of the home radio being programmed into the home radio receiver.

128. The system of claim 126 further comprising:

the location coordinates of the home radio being derived from an internal GPS receiver located in the home radio.

129. The system of claim 126 further comprising:

a ranging device for determining the coordinates of the remotely located home radio receiver.

130. The system of claim 126 further comprising:

the radio receiver receiving the danger warning and emergency response and an annunciator for issuing from the home radio receiver an emergency message customized to the location of the home radio receiver.

131. The system of claim 130 further comprising:

the emergency message identifying the danger and its position from the home radio receiver.

134. A system for detecting emergency conditions and warning populations thereof comprising:

an emergency-condition monitoring station having

an earth-scanning platform operable to scan a select portion of the earth and to generate scanning signals indicative of detected emergency conditions,

computer circuitry for analyzing the scanning signals and generating warning control signals representative of the detected emergency conditions, and

a short-wave transmitter for transmitting the warning control signals at selected time intervals, and

a multitude of short-wave receivers,

each short-wave receiver being operable between a stand-by mode and a full-receive mode,

in the stand-by mode, the short wave receiver being activated at all times awaiting receipt of control signals from the monitoring station for switching the short wave receiver to the full-receive mode, and

in the full-receive mode, the short wave receiver warning members of the population by displaying intelligibly readable indications relating to the emergency conditions on a display screen coupled to the short wave receiver and by generating speech signals which are transduced into the sounds of words of speech relating to the emergency conditions by a speaker coupled to the short wave receiver.

135. The system of claim 134 wherein the earth scanning platform is an airborne satellite, aircraft, pilotless drone, or balloon, or a fixed or mobile ground-based structure or vehicle, or a person.

136. The system of claim 134 wherein the earth-scanner is an electro-optic, television camera, infrared camera, radar, or spectral scanner.

137. The system of claim 134 wherein the scanned portions of the earth include an atmosphere or an ocean.

138. The system of claim 134 wherein the scanning signals are images.

139. The system of claim 134 further comprising:

artificial intelligence ware, including fuzzy logic and neural networks, employed to detect, locate or quantify the emergency condition.

140. The system of claim 134 further comprising:

artificial intelligence ware, including fuzzy logic and neural networks, employed to determine the degree and extent of danger represented by the emergency conditions.

141. The system of claim 134 further comprising:

artificial intelligence ware, including fuzzy logic and neural networks, employed to determine the area of earth to be scanned and image analyzed.

142. The system of claim 134 further comprising:

artificial intelligence ware, including fuzzy logic and neural networks, employed to determine the population area to be warned and the information to be transmitted to the receivers of such population.

143. The system of claim 134 further comprising:

artificial intelligence ware, including fuzzy logic and neural networks, employed to determine the area of earth to have its scanning image enlarged for further analysis.

144. The system of claim 134 wherein the further analysis further comprises:

electronic scanning cameras focused on the area selected for enlargement to provide more detailed information about the emergency condition.

145. The system of claim 134 further comprising:

artificial intelligence ware, including fuzzy logic and neural networks, employed to select the type of scanning system to be employed.

146. The system of claim 134 further comprising:

artificial intelligence ware, including fuzzy logic and neural networks, employed to select and control the radiation to be used for scanning.

147. The system of claim 134 further comprising:

artificial intelligence ware, including fuzzy logic and neural networks, employed to select and control the image analyzing computing system.

148. The system of claim 134 further comprising:

artificial intelligence ware, including fuzzy logic and neural networks, employed to select and control the flight path of any airborne craft supporting one of the scanning platforms.

149. The system of claim 134 further comprising:

artificial intelligence ware, including fuzzy logic and neural networks, employed to select and control an earth satellite scanning platform.

150. The system of claim 134 wherein the short wave transmitter broadcasts on a plurality of different broadcast channels to which a plurality of different receivers are tuned.

151. The system of claim 134 wherein the short wave receiver includes a television receiver, a radio or a computer-receiver.

152. The system of claim 134 wherein the short wave transmitter is coupled to at least one communications network.

153. The system of claim 134 wherein in the full-receive mode the receiver is fully powered by line current.

154. The system of claim 134 wherein the intelligibly readable indications are lines of characters and text.

155. The system of claim 134 wherein the speech signals are synthetic.

156. The system of claim 134 wherein the warning is effected by issuing warning sounds.

157. The system of claim 134 wherein the short wave receivers are located in a select area of the earth as defined by the computer analyses of the scanning signals.

158. The system of claim 157 wherein the select area of the earth is further defined by a ground or oceanographic sensor in the area scanned.

159. The system of claim 134 further comprising:

at least some of the short-wave receivers in each population area containing an area-locating code generator and a short-wave transmitter for transmitting area-locating codes to the monitoring station, and circuitry at the monitoring station for detecting the area locating codes and those receivers in a select population area which received the warning control signals originally broadcast from the monitoring station indicative of a select emergency condition at the select population area to allow personnel at the monitoring station to analyze the situation and respond thereto accordingly.

160. The system of claim 134 further comprising:

at least some of the short-wave receivers in each population area containing an identification code generator and a short-wave transmitter for transmitting identification codes to the monitoring station, and computer circuitry at the monitoring station for detecting the identification codes and how many of those receivers in a select population area received the warning control signals originally broadcast from the monitoring station indicative of a select emergency condition at the select population area to allow a computer at the monitoring station to analyze the situation and respond thereto accordingly by retransmitting coded information.

161. The system of claim 160 wherein the retransmission includes telephoning authorities.

162. A network for detecting emergency conditions and warning populations thereof comprising:

a plurality of emergency-condition monitoring stations each having

at least one earth-scanning platform which is operable to generate scanning signals indicative of detected emergency conditions,

computer circuitry for analyzing the scanning signals and generating warning control signals representative of the detected emergency conditions, and

a short-wave transmitter for repeatably transmitting the warning control signals at selected time intervals, and

a multitude of receivers,

each receiver being operable between a stand-by mode and a full-receive mode,

in the stand-by mode, the receiver normally being activated at all times awaiting receipt of control signals from the monitoring station for switching the receiver to the full-receive mode, and

in the full-receive mode, the receiver warning members of the population by displaying intelligibly readable indications relating to the emergency conditions on a display screen coupled to the receiver and by generating speech signals which are transduced into the sounds of words of speech relating to the emergency conditions by a speaker coupled to the receiver.

163. An interactive earth scanning system for detecting variables in the planet earth comprising:

a plurality of earth-scanning platforms including satellites and pilotless aircraft operable to scan a select portion of the earth and to generate image signals thereof,

computer circuits, including artificial intelligence circuits comprising neural networks and fuzzy logic circuits, for analyzing the image signals and generating output control signals representative of the detected variables, and

a two-way communication system between the satellites and pilotless aircraft through which the output control signals from the computerized analysis of the satellite image signals are employed to further control the earth-scanning operations to optimize system detection and efficiency.

164. The system of claim 163 wherein the computer circuits for control of the earth-scanning operations further comprise circuits for controlling a flight path of one or more of the pilotless aircraft serving as a scanning platform.

165. The system of claim 163 wherein the variable of planet earth includes an emergency condition presenting a danger to population areas.

166. The system of claim 163 wherein the satellites are geo-synchronous.

167. The system of claim 163 further comprising;

each scanning platform supporting one or more tv cameras.

168. The system of claim 163 wherein the pilotless aircraft, being closer to the earth than the satellites, can provide focused enlargements of selected areas of the earth.

169. The system of claim 163 further comprising:

circuits for processing the output control signals from the computerized analysis of the satellite image signals to further control an imaging or spectral sub-system of the scanning platforms to further optimize system detection and efficiency.

170. The system of claim 163 further comprising:

circuits for processing the output control signals from the computerized analysis of the satellite image signals to further control the scanning operations of satellites and pilotless aircraft in the system.

171. The system of claim 163 further comprising:

circuits for processing the output control signals from the computerized analysis of the satellite image signals to further control data transfer between components of the system.

172. The system of claim 163 further comprising:

a ground-based monitoring station having computer circuits for employing the output signals to control the satellites and pilotless aircraft in the system.