HELP: Handheld Emergency Logistics Program for Generating Structured Requests for Resources in Stressful Conditions
Abstract
The speed and efficacy with which front-line warfighters in stressful conditions can submit resource requests, such as a casualty evacuation, could mean the difference between life and death. Traditional methods to call for resources require training, are error-prone and can be sluggish. The Handheld Emergency Logistics Program (HELP) was developed by the authors of this thesis to assist both trained and untrained persons in requesting resources from supporting agencies. HELP was developed to prove the concept that off-the-shelf mobile technology can significantly improve the speed and efficacy of resource requests. This thesis aims to allow HELP to exploit built-in sensors in modern commercial off-the-shelf handheld smart devices and their computation and communication capability to reduce the chance of error, reduce the need to pull information from memory, reduce manual data entry, and provide multiple redundant modalities for performing the same action. Our findings indicate that with the assistance of HELP, users submitting resource requests committed half as many errors and completed the request in half the amount of time as compared to a control group using traditional methods. We recommend that the concept of using smart devices to call for resources be further developed into a program of record.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA620881
Entities
People
- Buck A. Bradley
- Ryan D. Barnes
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School