[EAS] WEA graphics

[Robert Bunge]

When it was proposed that WEA 2.0 have the option to include links (like to a map); the push back from the cell carrier engineers, was to say the least, impressive.  One carrier engineer was kind enough to walk me through their architecture, or to better put it, the vast and very different ranges of architectures they support across their networks, just how unmanaged their networks are (IE they have zero control how an app on a device will use their network) and how many versions of a OS supported application need to be supported (dozens - even in the Apple environment there might be several different versions of the WEA application based on device, OS version, carrier, etc) and how many contractors are involved in developing the applications.  While this one engineer gave me the grand tour, other engineers from other carriers said enough to make me realize they were quite similar.

He achieved his goal; at the time, he turned me from an advocate of including a link to a map to a skeptic.  He had a fear of NWS including links that users would depend on to make a decision only to have the loading of the map fail due to network (especially in crowded urban areas) or/and server loading issues and delaying action.  Other questions include who is serving the map?  Or is the WEA application plotting the polygon in the built in mapping application (if there is one).  

That was a number of years ago, so there might have been changes I'm not currently aware of, certainly to include 5G and I have no current insight as to what NWS/FEMA/FCC might be talking about today.

Nutshell.  Spent a few minutes considering the complexities.  Then multiply them by at least a factor of 100x.  Not that it can't be done, but it will be a lot of work.

Bob

On Fri, Jul 16, 2021 at 7:49 AM Dave Dunsmoor <mrfixit at min.midco.net> wrote:

>...With the development of dashboard menu screens, if a warning arrives via NWR (monitored in the background), it interrupts whatever is on the screen/audio and displays the 'map' with the NWR audio so motorists would avoid the area threatened. GM engineers were introduced to the concept - still await the desired results.

>>Ted
>>Wash SECC Vice-Chair

>I'll think on this for a bit, but my first reaction is that all this "safety at any cost" is over-reaching and prone to pushing everyone to become like two women "discussing" the fender bender I passed on the way to work one morning years ago. It went something like thie: "You're supposed to look for other traffic! Well, I didn't look because you had the stop sign". In other words, personal safety slowly becomes someone else's responsibility. I'm against it....unless it can *easily* be turned on/off similar to the backup warning annunciator systems.

>Dave

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