Plumecast - FAQs
Can Plumecast be used with emergency vehicles?
Yes. A rugged laptop with Plumecast installed can be connected to a portable sensor and started on site.
When first run it will give a guide to risk area after 100 seconds. It starts with a conservative estimate of risk area which becomes more refined and narrower as data is collected.
Plumecast is well suited to this application as it is fast and accurate and provides unique levels of resilience giving responders risk area information without depending on any outside agency.
Where can I get suitable maps?
Map requirements are quite straightforward. Each Plumecast system sold in the UK is supplied with a map based on an area defined by the customer based on OS 1:250 000 Scale maps.
If a customer has an existing map, for example including key risk sites or rendezvous points it may be possible to use this or modify it as an alternative. Plumecast can use maps in several standard formats - JPG, PNG, BMP and there are many widely used applications that can convert others to suitable formats.
Maps should however be 1240 x 1240 pixels and cover an area 40 x 40km, 20 x 20km or 8 x 8km according to the scaling option used.
Alternatively, custom maps can be provided, or maps modified for a charge.
Can Plumecast be displayed at multiple locations?
Yes it can. There are many ways of doing this. The actual screen can be shared on-line or through an intranet or archive data that is constantly updated every second could be accessed remotely.
Can I use Plumecast with my existing emergency management software?
Almost certainly, there are many ways that Plumecast data can be combined with other information display systems. For example, a simple screen sharing application will work well. Plumecast creates files in KML format compatible with many GIS and information systems used in emergency response applications. These files can be obtained by a simple API call from the cloud based 'Weatherfile' database managed by R-P-R Ltd. It also generates an archive file for the risk areas including all the key parameters for existing applications to draw these on a map.