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Quick Start Guide

Get up and running in 30 seconds

What is AusOverwatch?

AusOverwatch is a real-time geospatial intelligence platform for Australia. It displays 15 live data layers on an interactive 3D globe — earthquakes, flights, bushfires, vessels, satellites, weather, air quality, UV index, warnings, traffic, transit, energy grid, webcams, census data, and weather radar — plus a World Events intelligence mode for monitoring global hotspots and a My Neighbourhood personalised dashboard.

Getting Started

1. Open ausoverwatch.com in your browser
2. The map loads centred on Australia with the default layers already active
3. Green toggles on the left panel = active layers. Toggle any layer on/off
4. Click any marker on the map to see detailed information in the right panel
5. Use your scroll wheel to zoom in/out, and click-drag to pan

Key Controls

Control	How
Toggle layers	Click the green/grey switches in the left panel
View entity details	Click any marker on the map
Close info panel	Click X or press Escape
Zoom	Scroll wheel
Pan	Left-click and drag
Tilt (3D)	Right-click and drag
Switch theme	Dark / Light / Sat buttons under MAP section
Switch view	3D / 2D buttons under MAP section
Fly to city	Select a city from the Regions dropdown
AI Briefing	Select a location, click "Brief Me"
World Events	Click "World Events" button, select a region
My Neighbourhood	Click the green button on the bottom-left of the map

Layers at a Glance

Domestic Layers

Layer	What It Shows	Updates
Earthquakes	M2.5+ quakes (past 7 days)	60s
Flights	Live aircraft positions	15s
Bushfires	NASA satellite fire hotspots	5 min
Vessels	Ships via AIS tracking	Real-time
Satellites	ISS + weather satellites	60s
Webcams	1000+ Australian cameras	On load
UV Index	UV levels at 17 stations	2 min
Air Quality	AQI at 150+ stations	5 min
Warnings	BOM weather warnings	5 min
Traffic	NSW + VIC road incidents	2 min
Transit	Buses, trains, ferries, trams (QLD, SA, ACT)	30s
Energy Grid	NEM renewable % by region	5 min
Weather	Conditions in 20 cities	10 min
Census 2021	Demographics by SA2 area	Static
Weather Radar	Rain overlay (RainViewer)	On toggle

World Events Layers (toggle-activated)

Layer	What It Shows	Updates
Military Aircraft	Military jets worldwide (crimson)	60s
LADD Aircraft	Restricted/hidden aircraft (amber)	60s
News Events	GDELT global news pins	5 min
Conflict Events	ACLED battles, protests, violence	15 min
GPS Jamming Zones	Degraded GPS integrity areas (red)	Real-time

World Events Mode

1. Click the "World Events" button in the left panel
2. Select a region from the dropdown (Middle East, Ukraine, South China Sea, etc.)
3. The camera flies to the region and activates intelligence layers:
   • Crimson jets = military aircraft with dead-reckoning
   • Amber jets = LADD (restricted) aircraft
   • Coloured pins = news events by category
   • Red/orange icons = conflict events (swords, bursts, fists)
   • Red translucent circles = GPS jamming zones
4. Click "Intel Brief" for an AI intelligence analysis of the region
5. Click "Exit World Events" to return to domestic mode

My Neighbourhood

1. Click the green button on the bottom-left of the map (pulses if no address saved)
2. Enter your Australian address (e.g., "18 Smith St Brisbane QLD") and click Save
3. A futuristic dashboard opens showing 12 data cards — weather, UV, air quality, warnings, energy, flights, transit, traffic, vessels, earthquakes, fires, satellites — all based on proximity to your home
4. Below the cards: 3 local news headlines from Google News for your state
5. Your address is saved to your browser and persists across sessions
6. Click Change to update or Clear to remove your address

AI Briefing

1. Select a location from the dropdown (All Australia, a city, or a state)
2. Click "Brief Me"
3. Wait 2–3 seconds for AI analysis
4. Read the situational summary highlighting the most important events, hazards, and conditions

Tips

For the complete documentation, see the Full User Manual.