Public Safety & Emergency Response GIS

Rapid, field-tested geospatial support for emergency managers, first responders, and public safety agencies across Tennessee and Southern Kentucky — built on two decades of real disaster-response experience, not theory.

“The sooner we collect this data, the sooner we can get help to the people that need it most.”

Mike Wilson, Director, APSU GIS Center — on the Center’s response to the January 2024 Tennessee tornadoes

Within hours of the storms, the GIS Center was flying drones and tracking 911 calls, road closures, and property-damage assessments, then sharing that data directly with Montgomery County Emergency Management — work that used to take weeks, done in a single day. The Center has since supported response to multiple additional tornado and flood events in Middle Tennessee.

Marketable Service Offerings

• Real-time drone mapping and post-disaster damage assessment
• 911 call, road-closure, and property-damage dashboards for emergency managers
• Rapid disaster-response data collection — hours, not weeks
• FEMA/TEMA hazard-mitigation grant mapping and data support
• Search-and-rescue and missing-person mapping support

Active Research: Next-Generation Emergency Response Drones

The GIS Center is a partner on a three-year, $750,000 NASA grant with Meharry Medical College to develop modular, 3D-printed drones for emergency response and healthcare delivery in hard-to-reach areas.

“The beauty of this platform is its flexibility. We can equip these drones with various sensors for data collection, or configure them to deliver medical supplies to areas that might be cut off during emergencies.”

Doug Catellier, Project Manager, APSU GIS Center

“This technology could significantly reduce the time it takes to assess damage and coordinate relief efforts.”

Mason Cordell, Systems Engineer, APSU GIS Center

Outcomes

• Damage assessment and situational awareness in hours, not weeks
• Data delivered directly to county Emergency Management for faster, better-targeted aid
• Proven UAV operations experience across multiple real Tennessee disasters
• Active NASA-funded research pipeline advancing next-generation emergency-response technology