Support Systems: Intrado Expands Public Safety Activities
Paula Bernier
12/01/2002
Posted 12/01/2002
Intrado Expands Public Safety
Activities
By Paula Bernier
Forget about "killer"
applications. Public safety applications could be the next big thing for public
network operators. Intrado, which sells IntelliCast, notifi-cation services that
broadcast emergency and non-emergency messages, is working to make that happen,
says Dan Hoskins, vice president and general manager of Intrado Inc.'s wireless
business unit. IntelliCast, which includes a database and connectivity that ties
the service provider into public safety systems, is already used to serve 24
wireless carriers with wireless E911 capabilities. Now the company is developing
a mobile version of IntelliCast to allow wireless customers to be notified of
emergency situations based on their locations. For example, a subscriber driving
down a highway in Kansas could get an SMS message alerting him or her of a
weather threat such as a tornado, explains Hoskins. Or, as another example,
people living or driving in an area where there's been an oil refinery accident
could be sent a text alert about that situation, he says. "Our vision is of
working with wireless carriers to offer safety applications and to partner with
safety agencies and content providers to do that," Hoskins adds. As of mid
November, Intrado had not announced a rollout schedule for this new, mobile
version of IntelliCast.
Of course, the tragedy of Sept. 11,
2001, the anthrax attacks that followed and the recent D.C. area shootings,
among other events, have brought public safety front and center in the past
several months. "Since Sept. 11 of last year we've seen an increase of
consumer and government awareness of opportunities to increase public security
through technology," Hoskins says.
But public safety goes far beyond
attempting to shield people from terrorism and weather threats. Intrado is also
working to tie its products into telematics systems in vehicles to improve
emergency response in the event of motorist collisions. Telematics is the
technology used in data systems found in most high-end vehicles that allows the
drivers to receive location-based and other services.
"If there's a car crash, the
vehicle could send data like deceleration of the vehicle that would make it very
likely that injury would occur," says Hoskins. "That could go to the
public safety agency and also to the health care provider. This is futuristic,
but we very recently announced a successful trial for automatic crash
notification data to be transmitted from vehicles to the public safety
center."
For that trial Intrado teamed with
the wireline business of SBC Communications Inc., Greater Harris County 9-1-1
Emergency Network, Ford Motor Co., software company Veridian and others to
install telematics in dozens of police cars in the Houston area. "SBC had
to make changes in their network to enable this, so they are a partner in
this," says Hoskins. "SBC is interested in considering this as a
service going forward."
Combining global positioning system
satellite tracking and wireless communications, the telematics system offered an
automated post-collision notification system that was integrated into the
county's existing 911 emergency network. In the event of a collision, the
onboard system immediately transmitted an alert -- along with details, such as
location, magnitude and number of passengers involved -- via SBC's wireline
network to an emergency response center operated by Cross Country Automotive
Services. Intrado used the vehicle's location to help route the voice and
enhanced telematics collision data sent by the onboard system to the appropriate
public safety answering point in the Houston area via the existing 911 system.
Intrado managed the project and
provided the Emergency Call Relay Center (ECRC), which ensures that vital
post-collision information is received and relayed quickly and efficiently; the
Coordinate Routing Database (CRDB) and Intrado Positioning Server (IPS) to help
determine the appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP) and provide
routing instructions; and Intrado's Automatic Location Identification (ALI) to
provide the 911 caller's name, location and emergency responder information to
the PSAP.
"We are optimistic we will
announce other trials in the near future," says Hoskins.
Clearly, this application could
apply to any motorist whose vehicle has a telematics system to automatically
send information directly to emergency services organizations for quicker
response times and more information. In contrast, owners of vehicles with
telematics systems today don't receive 911-type service, says Hoskins. Instead,
their outgoing communications go through a third party that then reroutes their
calls to an emergency response organization if needed.
Email this article
Add a comment
Printer version
Order reprints
RSS Feed
Bookmark article
