A geocast-based algorithm for a field common operating picture

Field operations teams need situational awareness support in order to efficiently carry out high risk safety critical tasks. A field common operating picture (FCOP) provides location tracking, movement history, telemetry, and messaging in near real time to all operators equally. This paper describes a novel scalable distributed algorithm for maintaining such a display using a scalable ad hoc geocast protocol as communication primitive. The algorithm is evaluated both analytically and through performance measurements of an implementation running on commercial smartphones. It is shown to outperform alternative approaches.