CoPilot Product Line Case Study
Murray A. Titus, Jr.
CTV News Media
"I can't believe this thing got us
here!"
It was the summer of 2003. Forest fires that were ravaging vast areas
of some western US states were making headlines worldwide. To the north,
last summer also went down as the worst forest fire season in British
Columbia’s history.
As part of the news media, CTV British Columbia was on the fire lines
throughout the summer, documenting the courage, the emotion and the devastation
of this catastrophic event. Deployed into the most devastating wild fire
in Canadian history was Murray A. Titus, Jr., Senior ENG Camera at the
Vancouver, BC station that is affiliated with the national private Canadian
television network.
On the evening of August 20, 2003, Titus and other CTV British Columbia
staff members found themselves in Kelowna, BC, a city of about 96,000
located 240 miles east of Vancouver. The news photographer was filing
a story about a wild fire that was on a run through a number of subdivisions. “I
had only been to Kelowna once before this particular assignment and did
not know the city very well at all,” Titus reported.
“Just before I was sent to Kelowna, I had received a beta release
of a new street-level navigation software called Copilot, by ALK Technologies,” Titus
explained. “As I drove into town that evening, I received a call
from one of our crews that was already on the scene. They gave me a cross
street and I entered the information into CoPilot to see where it would
take me. I hooked up with our other crew very quickly, so I decided to
use the Copilot as my primary navigational tool during this assignment.
“CoPilot got me everywhere, to the hotel, fire station and airport,
and gave me a lot of very useful information,” Titus continued, “but
its real value became very evident as the story unfolded. Over 300 homes
had burnt to the ground. In some locations it looked like the small towns
I had seen during my time in northern Bosnia. Access was very limited
to the devastated areas and the restrictions extended to the media.
“
After much negotiation, we were able to broadcast from within the restricted
area,” Titus related. “We had the permission of a home
owner to broadcast from their property and our technical team went
to check it out. Before they left I recommended they take the CoPilot
with them. Once they crossed into the fire zone, CoPilot's value became
clear. The neighborhood they were seeking was completely destroyed.
Street signs, landmarks and numbers on doors didn’t exist.
“Copilot did not need terrestrial objects to guide the team,” Titus
continued. “It took them to the driveway of the address they were
looking for, property that had been so devastated that not even the mailbox
had survived the inferno. It was then I received a call from my Technical
Supervisor, Dave Alexander. ‘I can't believe this thing got us
here,’ he said.”
Titus had been telling his colleagues on this assignment what a great
tool Copilot had been. He was certainly proven correct, especially in
this case. The system even helped the team get to its next destination
and then find their way back to the operations center with the same ease
it had provided on the trip in.
While the experience in Kelowna cemented his belief in the value of
CoPilot from ALK, Titus also explained his daily use of the personal
navigation system. “I had tested the ability of CoPilot on an HP
2200 series handheld computer to get me to and from my office in downtown
Vancouver as well as for navigating to various addresses and intersections
for spot news items,” he related. “I was impressed with how
the product performed, so much so that I put my paper and book maps away.
“The problem with other navigation software was that it often
did not have accurate Canadian data, but not CoPilot,” Titus noted. “Now
I use it everyday, on every assignment. I have the new and improved Canadian
Release 4.5 and each time a new reporter or passenger is in my vehicle,
I show it off with pride. Everyone who sees it perform is impressed,
especially with how fast it finds addresses, calculates a current position
and starts issuing directions. Also very impressive is its ability to
very quickly recalculate the best route if we change course or make a
wrong turn.
“As a frontline photographer, I often find myself driving to places
I have never been before,” Titus added. “Street level mapping
is essential in enabling me to do my job in a timely and efficient manner.
The news desk used to issue detailed directions to crews dispatched to
breaking news. Now I just tell them to give me the address and I let
CoPilot take me there. It works every time.
“
Paper maps and book maps had always been essential equipment for news
crews across North America,” Titus concluded. “With CoPilot
from ALK Technologies, though, those are things of the past.”
ABOUT ALK TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Since its founding in 1979, ALK Technologies, Inc., a Princeton, NJ based company,
has recognized the power of information technology and its direct link to competitive
advantage and customer satisfaction. For over 20 years, ALK has helped companies
and individuals navigate the growth and transformation of transportation technology
through consulting, customized information systems and packaged software solutions.
For more information on ALK visit www.alk.com
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