The Colorado Team Awareness Kit (COTAK) is a free iOS, Android, Windows, and web-based service for all Colorado public safety agencies. It provides real-time location information to emergency responders. COTAK uses the GPS available in smartphones and tablets to assist emergency responders in locating themselves, their team members, and other enrolled agency personnel. By using COTAK, emergency responders can enhance their situational awareness, team coordination, and safety.
COTAK is free to all Colorado public safety agencies and emergency responders. COTAK is a valuable tool for law enforcement, firefighters, search and rescue teams, and more. If your agency plays a role in public safety and resides in Colorado, COTAK is an essential resource for you.
To access COTAK, agencies must sign up for service directly at cotak.gov and click "sign up" to begin. First, you must designate an agency administrator. This is someone who adds/deletes users and creates channels. Typically, this is the person who requests inclusion in the COTAK program.
Once your agency is enrolled, our team will add your agency to the COTAK server. After your agency is added to the server, your personnel will gain access to the appropriate channels, which your agency's administrator sets. Mutual aid channels between multiple agencies at the county, region, or statewide levels are available as well. Users can then download the application to their smartphone and customize their COTAK experience by selecting the channels or information they would like to see.
The Team Awareness Kit (TAK) software was originally created by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to assist military forces with battlefield awareness. After its development, the DoD released the software for free to government agencies for use beyond military applications. You'll find the TAK apps free in all app stores on your mobile device under "CIV TAK."
Realizing that not all agencies have the same level of resources, the State of Colorado recognized TAK as an opportunity to provide public safety agencies with an innovative and free method of collaboration, better-equipping emergency responders with the tools they need to stay safe on the job. COTAK also fosters interoperability by allowing multiple agencies to use the service during mutual aid situations, regardless of what other technologies each agency also deploys.
COTAK is brought to you by the Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting (CoE), a section of Colorado's Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) within the Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS). The CoE runs the COTAK program.
COTAK operates by using two key components: (1) the GPS chip in your phone to provide location information and (2) the cellular data connection in your smartphone to transmit this location to a remote server, essentially a large computer in the cloud. This server collects and distributes all the reported locations to all connected users. This process occurs very quickly, allowing location updates to be available every 1-2 seconds. In addition, COTAK offers many other features, such as sharing points, custom maps, overlays for displaying custom data, and integrations with external devices that send out location signals. In summary, COTAK excels in capturing location-based information and presenting it to all users.
COTAK operates using a cellular connection and only requires minimal cell signal. In areas without cell coverage, COTAK can be utilized by adding network equipment such as GoTenna, Silvus, Garmin inReach, or Starlink. However, current users have reported that they can access the COTAK service and obtain the necessary information, even in highly remote areas with weak cell coverage.
COTAK can offer guidance on using the basic TAK app off-grid, but there are other focuses right now. Our primary goal is to ensure that we provide the core capabilities to as many emergency responders as possible and will address niche uses in the future.
Yes. Utilized by all public safety agencies, COTAK's incident mapping overlay is a valuable feature that facilitates a coordinated team response, especially in mutual aid incidents. Here are some ways Colorado public safety agencies are using this feature:
While COTAK is available for free, it requires a short period of time to learn the technology. Initial agency training and education are crucial for the adoption and use of COTAK. To help with this, cotak.gov offers several short training videos to help connect your device and ensure a seamless user experience.
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Yes, we are confident that our online videos will cover most of your initial COTAK training questions. We encourage all new users to visit our YouTube page for step-by-step tutorials on all things COTAK. Additionally, users can log in to their MyCOTAK account to access additional educational and training resources. If you still have questions, please don't hesitate to contact us using this form, and one of our representatives will be happy to assist you.
The TAK suite of apps is available for public use and can be found on the appropriate app store. The value of using the COTAK service lies in collaborating with other users. Therefore, we suggest piloting the program with your agency. Then, you can decide later whether to continue using the service (which is free) or withdraw your agency from the program.
Getting started is easy! To enroll your agency in COTAK, click here to get started or contact us using this form.