Daktronics Software Integrates with IPAWS for Automatic Emergency Alerts

Brookings, South Dakota-based LED display manufacturer Daktronics announces the integration of its Venus Control Suite software to Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) emergency management alerts. Customers using Venus Control Suite to operate their digital billboards or outdoor displays can now automatically run IPAWS emergency alerts.

Digital billboards can play a vital role in emergency management, according to Jessie Koch, Daktronics product manager.

“Our digital billboards are positive additions to the community,” she says. “We are able to perform several public service functions by facilitating AMBER Alerts, weather alerts and law enforcement alerts,” she says.

Some recent examples of how effective billboards can be include:

• Clear Channel Outdoor displayed most-wanted information that helped the police catch 13 dangerous fugitives.
• Schools use outdoor and indoor signage, including messages on video scoreboards, to alert parents and students when needed.
• Walgreens drugstore sends out hundreds of AMBER Alerts and weather warnings at 1,200-plus locations.

Service entities, such as fire departments, run content ranging from fire alerts and emergency evacuation plans to safety programs and smoke alarm reminders.

“The Venus Control Suite and IPAWS interface streamlines the process of emergency management and offers a more comprehensive choice for our digital billboard owners,” says Koch.