Problem
For a several years the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) has been a leading developer of the "MayDay" initiative. This initiative is a long-term project with the goal of implementing an automated system of delivering automotive accident information to appropriate emergency response agencies, public service answering points (PSAP), and other involved parties. The initiative is driven by the fact that a large percentage of fatalities in traffic accidents happen in rural areas when only one vehicle involved in the accident.
The growing number of so called "smart cars" on the nation's roadways equipped with emergency notification systems such as GM's OnStar is an important first step in making that kind of system possible. The next step is developing a system to disperse the emergency data beyond the private telematics service providers' (TSP) call centers into the hands of public safety and health professionals.
Solution
MNDOT selected Coherent Solutions to develop a pilot implementation of a robust and scalable software system that would perform a rules-based routing of XML messages. Coherent Solutions' SolutionWire application framework and SolutionWire AppBuilder modeling frameworks were used as the platform for the system's implementation.
The project team leveraged expertise in GIS technologies, XML and Web Services to develop an expandable software application for flexible and scalable content-based routing of XML-based messages. This application, named the MayDay Data Router, supported routing rules that are able to combine GIS proximity queries with customizable expressions providing for the evaluation of the severity of the accident (such as whether a car's airbags were deployed).
The MayDay Data Router has been in pilot deployment since September 2004. During its deployment it has assisted MNDOT traffic management employees and Mayo Clinic personnel to quickly identify the sites of traffic accidents. This has enabled them to respond more quickly to hundreds of accidents and be better prepared in those instances where critical emergencies exist.
