A web and app-based search and rescue platform.
Every searcher, and every step they have taken, on one map.
Dirt Map is designed and developed in Australia, and its navigation is used by 4WDers, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts. Dirt Map SAR builds on the same proven technology, enhanced for search and rescue. The goal: easy, reliable, accurate and quick to set up.
Dirt Map SAR gives the person running a search one board, in a web browser, showing where every searcher is, where they have been, and who needs checking. Searchers share their position from their Dirt Map app, so there is no dedicated hardware to issue.
Other volunteer groups can join the same operation, others can watch without changing anything, and the full record exports in standard formats for the debrief.
Operation data is held in Australia, kept for 12 months, with a record of who opened each board.
The whole search on one screen.
Operation header
Name, running time, join code, export and end operation.
Welfare alerts
Banners flag a low battery, an overdue searcher or a new joiner.
The map
Searchers, trails, sectors and briefing marks on the MGA2020 grid.
Panels
Roster, teams, sectors, clues, briefing items and the operation log.
Roster
Each searcher’s last grid reference, when it was sent, and their battery.
Everyone on one map
Each searcher is a numbered dot in their team colour, with their name and the trail they have walked. Switch between topographic, satellite and plain views, with the MGA2020 grid on top.
Know who needs checking
The board flags a searcher whose position has stopped updating, a phone running low on battery, and every new person who joins. The roster shows each searcher’s last grid reference, when it was sent, and their battery.
Sectors and teams
Draw search sectors, assign each one to a team, and see a sector marked in progress as soon as its team is inside it.
Briefing on the map
Mark the last-seen point, hazards and access routes on the operation map, and log clues with photos as reports come in.
Plan over real ground
Plot routes that follow named tracks or run straight across country, with the climb and descent of every leg. Find any spot by grid reference or latitude and longitude.
Print and hand over
Print an A4 team sheet with the grid for each team, and export the whole operation as GPX, KML, CSV and a PDF summary.
Know who needs checking.
- Last known grid reference
- Each searcher’s last MGA2020 reference, with the time it was sent and how long ago.
- Battery and welfare flags
- Every phone’s battery, with a flag when one runs low or a position stops updating.
- In the field, or safe out
- A searcher who signs out early moves to “out of the field” and shows as safe out.
- Teams at a glance
- Each searcher’s number and team colour match their dot on the map.
Plan the search on the map.
- Sectors by team
- Drawn, assigned, and marked in progress once the team is inside.
- Last seen and hazards
- The last-seen point and hazards, like a flooded crossing, marked where they are.
- Routes from the start point
- Plan numbered legs along tracks or straight across country.
Know a track before you send a team down it.
See the ground each searcher has covered.
Searchers join easily, then get on with the search.
Share on the operation’s schedule
Once a searcher has joined, their position is shared every 30 seconds by default, and the coordinator can change that for each operation.
Copes with patchy coverage
When a phone loses signal it keeps recording positions, then sends them with their original times once it is back in range, so the trail fills in.
Their team on their map
Searchers see their own team’s positions and trails, and the search sectors, on Dirt Map’s topographic map.
Stood down with the operation
Ending the operation stops every phone sharing its position with it. A searcher who leaves early signs out and shows on the board as safe out.
What a searcher sees.
The map: their whole team, on a topographic map.
- Each teammate is a numbered dot in the team colour, with the trail they have walked behind them.
- The search sectors sit on Dirt Map’s topographic map, with named tracks and contours.
- A card along the bottom shows the operation, the searcher’s number and their team.
The Operation card: know where every teammate is.
- Pull the card up to see every teammate’s number and name, with the searcher’s own row first.
- Each row shows how long ago that phone last sent a position, and its battery level.
- Tap a teammate and the map moves to them and highlights their trail.
Signing out: out of the field, and the board knows.
- “I’m out” needs a confirm, so nobody signs out by accident.
- The coordinator sees the searcher move to “out of the field”, marked safe out.
- The phone stops sharing its position. Ending the operation does the same for every phone.
Captured from the searcher iPhone app during a demo operation with simulated teammates.
Easily coordinate and collaborate with volunteer groups.
One operation, every group
Other groups join the same operation with its code, in their own teams, so everyone is on one board.
Watch without changing anything
Anyone given the code can watch as a viewer. They see the whole search and change nothing.
Share in standard formats
Tracks, clues and the log export as GPX, KML, CSV and PDF, which open in most mapping software.
Operation data stays with the operation.
Stored in Australia
Operation records, positions and photos are held in a Sydney data centre.
Shared only during an operation
A searcher’s position goes to the operation from the moment they join until they leave or it ends. Their own trips, routes and markers stay private.
Members only
Only people in the operation and your organisation’s own coordinators can see it. The coordinator can remove anyone, and a removed person loses access straight away. The join code stops working when the operation ends.
Every view recorded
A record is kept of who opened each operation board, and when.
Kept for 12 months
Records and photos are deleted 12 months after an operation ends. Export them at any time before that.
Organisations set up by us
There is no public sign-up. Dirt Map sets up each search organisation and adds the people who run its operations.
Adapts to each operation.
Every operation is set up for the job in front of you, from a small local search to a large multi-team effort.
Reporting rate
Choose how often phones send a position, for each operation.
Size
100 people by default, and the limit can be raised.
Teams and sectors
Drawn and assigned to suit the ground and the people on hand.
Briefing and viewers
Mark what matters on the map, and add viewers as needed.
Built, tested, and working.
Built and working
- The coordinator board: map, roster, teams, sectors, briefing items, clues, route planning, team sheets and exports
- Welfare warnings for overdue searchers, low batteries and new joiners
- Viewer access, so others can follow an operation without changing anything
- The searcher iPhone app: position sharing, patchy-coverage catch-up, team map and sign-out
- Automatic stand-down when the operation ends
Common questions.
What does a searcher need?
Does it work without mobile coverage?
Can others follow an operation?
Where is the data stored, and for how long?
Does it work with our existing mapping tools?
How many people can join one operation?
Do searchers have to pay for Dirt Map?
How does a squad get started?
Talk to us about a demo.
Email us and we will walk you through a demo operation.