I figure one example is very illustrative of the technology behind big data. Kirkland, Wash., traffic data company Inrix is about to start monitoring more in your car than just the direction and speed you're going. The company will know when you turn on your windshield wipers or apply the brakes.
With that information it will be able to give real-time weather to motorists. After all, you won't have your wipers on if it is not raining and if they are on, your car and the sensors in it will report to Inrix without you doing anything. The same goes for your brakes and traction control systems.
It is about tapping data that exists already and interpreting it for other uses.
In emergency management we need to be doing something similar across the board to improve our situational awareness. Tapping data to ...
