Purdue to test the limits of text messaging

September 18, 2007

Purdue University will conduct what is believed to be the first large-scale, real-world test of using text messaging to issue emergency alerts.

The test, which will begin on Monday, Sept. 24, will involve more than 7,200 volunteers who will accept the test messages and respond so that researchers can track the actual time it takes to deliver messages to a mass audience.

Following recent highly publicized events, universities have been challenged to find ways to quickly communicate with students in crisis situations. But the limits of current technology are not well understood, and high-volume testing of technologies like text messaging has not been previously conducted.

Scott Ksander, Purdue’s executive director of information technology networks and security, says there are many variables that can delay the delivery of messages, including cell tower proximity, signal strength and system traffic volume.

"When we need to send an emergency message, time is the most critical factor. We have seen reports of messaging rates as low as 200 to 300 per minute in some environments, while we have some vendors making unbelievable claims of thousands per second,” Ksander says. “We need to measure the environment available at Purdue, do a good engineering analysis on the systems, and understand technical and process changes we need to make to ensure that delivery time are at an acceptable level for mass emergency notification."

Ksander says the results of the study will be shared with other universities and emergency planners after the results are calculated.

If the testing is successful, Purdue may add text messaging capabilities to an existing integrated emergency notification system.

Source: Purdue University

4.5 /5 (4 votes)  

Rank 4.5 /5 (4 votes)
Tags

Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • feed hold button on CNC lathe
    created9 hours ago
  • Mechanics of Solids ( Final exam question) plz help!
    created10 hours ago
  • RFAC in Fortran
    created13 hours ago
  • dynamics 2/32
    created19 hours ago
  • dynamics
    created19 hours ago
  • Vibration Absorbtion Problem
    createdFeb 08, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - General Engineering

More news stories

Pa. symphony seeks soloist via YouTube contest

(AP) -- Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra officials insist it's not "American Idol" meets Mozart.

Technology / Internet

created 42 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Thomson Reuters posts loss on $3 bn writedown

Thomson Reuters posted a fourth-quarter loss on Thursday as the financial news and information provider took a $3 billion writedown on its financial services business.

Technology / Business

created 41 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Petitions protest Apple working conditions in China

Petitions denouncing working conditions at Chinese factories making Apple gadgets were delivered to the California firm's new Grand Central Station store on Thursday.

Technology / Business

created 40 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Model analyzes shape-memory alloys for use in earthquake-resistant structures

Recent earthquake damage has exposed the vulnerability of existing structures to strong ground movement. At the Georgia Institute of Technology, researchers are analyzing shape-memory alloys for their potential ...

Technology / Engineering

created 3 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Soraa LED light may dim 50-watt halogen rivals

(PhysOrg.com) -- Soraa, a Fremont, California company founded in 2008, this week launched its first product, a light that uses LEDS (light emitting diodes). The "Soraa LED MR16 lamp" is the "perfect" replacement ...

Technology / Semiconductors

created 9 hours ago | popularity 4.5 / 5 (11) | comments 6 | with audio podcast report


Hydrogen from acidic water: Researchers develop potential low cost alternative to platinum for splitting water

A technique for creating a new molecule that structurally and chemically replicates the active part of the widely used industrial catalyst molybdenite has been developed by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley ...

To perform with less effort, practice beyond perfection

Whether you are an athlete, a musician or a stroke patient learning to walk again, practice can make perfect, but more practice may make you more efficient, according to a surprising new University of Colorado Boulder study.

Scientists identify most lethal known species of prion protein

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a single prion protein that causes neuronal death similar to that seen in "mad cow" disease, but is at least 10 times more ...

US workers are 'giving away the store,' costing firms billions

Nearly 70 percent of the nation's service employees give away free goods and services – from hamburgers to cable TV – costing companies billions of dollars a year, according to a groundbreaking study.

New prenatal genetic test is much more powerful at detecting fetal abnormalities

A nationwide, federally funded study has found that testing a developing fetus' DNA through chromosomal microarray (CMA) provides more information about potential disorders than does the standard method of prenatal testing, ...

Barriers fall between TV, Internet

You say TV, I say Internet. Toe-mate-o, toe-mah-to.