My car, outfitted with a GPS position finder and an off-the-shelf wireless local area network (WLAN) communication system, was tipped off by another car carrying the same gear.

CNN: Behold the?all-seeing, self-parking, safety-enforcing, networked car

This means agencies could power their communication system in the field using an improvised local network if a disaster wipes out Internet connectivity, electricity, or both, like Hurricane Katrina did along the Gulf Coast.

FORBES: Crisis Communicating