emDART stands for emergency management Damage Assessment Reporting Tool

Following a natural or man-made disaster, assessment teams must immediately enter into damaged areas and begin conducting preliminary damage assessments. These assessments are performed by skilled emergency management personnel to survey the the impact, type and extent of the disaster's damages and to determine the after-effect to individuals, while also identifying the needed resources to recover.
This process is typically completed on paper forms in the field, and then compiled upon returning to their office or command center. In most cases, this process is time-consuming, with possible inaccuracies during conversion, or by being misplaced or illegible paper due to inclement weather conditions. emDART streamlines these processes by enabling the collection and compilation of damage data in a real-time environment. In order to use emDART, emergency management personnel can access the application with an Apple iPad. emDART software guides the assessor through the assistance damage survey report forms input process. Included are the functions to capture photos of the damage and observational details. GPS coordinates are automatically gathered through the iPad and/or web service via an integrated mapping program. Once completed, the form is automatically uploaded to a database via a cellular data network, where this information is immediately accessible to the incident commanders or other responding agencies. In the event that a cellular data signal is not available, the assessment information is collected in an "offline" mode and can be uploaded once network connectivity is available. Emergency management directors have access to all of this information via a secure web portal, where incident data and reports can be quickly documented and produced.