Adopting global standards for interoperable communication and coordination in NDM: Common Alert Protocol and NGSI-LD

One of the primary objectives of the TEMA project is to integrate advanced technology to enhance the effectiveness of emergency management. We have decided to adopt the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), a globally recognised OASIS standard designed to facilitate the dissemination of emergency alerts, to ensure that TEMA's platform can communicate efficiently and uniformly across heterogeneous systems and stakeholders, including civil protection agencies, first responders, and local authorities. 

In our project, we combined CAP with NGSI-LD, which was used as a standard format to represent the information contained in the alerts. In this way, alerts are not only a communication tool to spread news through the media but can become an integral part of the analysis system provided by the AI and Big Data technologies of the TEMA project.

This combination creates a more flexible and dynamic alert system by ensuring that alerts issued by TEMA are both human and machine readable, making them usable by a wide range of systems and stakeholders. The NGSI-LD format allows the platform to structure alerts in a way that allows for seamless integration with the broader TEMA architecture, ensuring that vital information such as the identity of the sender, the time the alert was issued, the severity and urgency of the situation, the certainty of the information and the geographical area affected are all clearly defined and accessible.

For example, the CAP model within the NGSI-LD framework allows for alerts to be customised based on the specific circumstances of an emergency. If a flood is imminent, TEMA’s platform can issue a CAP alert that trigger real-time data from various sensors and weather forecasts. This data is then processed, ensuring that both emergency services and the public receive accurate, timely, and actionable information. 

Benefits of Integrating CAP with NGSI-LD

Interoperability Across Systems: One of the most significant advantages of adopting CAP within the NGSI-LD framework is the level of interoperability it provides. CAP’s structured format ensures that alerts can be easily integrated across various systems, allowing different agencies and organisations to share and act upon the same data. This is particularly critical for TEMA, which operates across multiple countries and involves numerous stakeholders. The NGSI-LD format ensures that the alerts are compatible across borders, enhancing international cooperation in disaster response efforts.

Real-Time Data and Decision-Making: Certainly, a very crucial factor in emergency management capability is the availability of existing and useful real-time data. The TEMA system uses live streaming data from multiple points, such as sensors, satellite images or drones, to predict and track the evolution of floods, fires, etc. Furthermore, with the help of the NGSI-LD based CAP model, these data are taken and seamlessly integrated into the real-time warning system, so that decision makers and administrators always have the relevant information at their disposal.

Standardisation Across Borders: As operations span across Europe, TEMA activities need to bring together standardised notices, thus meeting standards in communications. It is for this very purpose that CAP was created to ensure that notices issued in one country are in a language that can be easily rendered and used by officials in the next country. In addition, NGSI-LD participates in enhancing this channel as it designs the notices in such a way that they can be easily black-boxed in different gadgets or agencies.

Geospatial Accuracy: The use of NGSI-LD in conjunction with CAP has an added benefit with respect to the integration of GeoProperties in the alerts to be sent. This allows TEMA to embed accurate geospatial information into the alert, which is particularly useful in scenarios like wildfires, where the alert needs to specify the exact areas that are at risk. This geospatial precision ensures that the appropriate regions and communities receive the warnings, enabling them to act quickly and efficiently.

Although CAP can be easily integrated with NGSI-LD and this has numerous advantages and opportunities, there are some issues that need to be addressed. One of the primary challenges is ensuring the adoption of NGSI-LD across different organisations and sectors, not all emergency management systems are equipped to handle this format. However, as more systems migrate towards NGSI-LD, its benefits, will become increasingly apparent.

Moreover, TEMA is exploring the integration of AI-driven decision support systems and Extended Reality (XR) technologies within the CAP and NGSI-LD framework. These technologies could further enhance the system’s alerting capabilities by providing real-time simulations of emergency scenarios and offering actionable recommendations based on predictive models.

The integration of the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) with the NGSI-LD data model represents a significant step forward in the TEMA project’s approach to emergency management. By combining the standardised alerting framework of CAP with the dynamic, interoperable, and real-time processing capabilities of NGSI-LD, TEMA can provide precise, real-time alerts that enhance both public safety and emergency response coordination. As the project continues to evolve, this use of cutting-edge technology will likely serve as a model for how emergency management systems can be designed to handle the complexity and urgency of natural disasters.