Our team is at the IACP Technology Conference this week in Jacksonville, Florida where I hosted a panel that discussed the positive impacts of 3D location technology for public safety. I provided the ‘technology enabler’ viewpoint for the audience, which consisted primarily of police, first responders, and other public safety officials. I was joined by an all-star group of speakers representing other important perspectives:
- Eddie Reyes (the end user)
- Director of Public Safety Communications, Prince William County Virginia
- Chairman, IACP Communications and Technology Committee
- Reginald Jones (the hardware enabler)
- Director of Public Safety Sales and Solutions, Samsung Electronics America
- Greg Albrecht (the application enabler)
- Co-Founder and CTO, Orion Labs
- Dispatch and EMS Supervisor, Rock Medicine
We started out by looking at the evolution of 3D location technology, based on regulatory and market drivers, such as FCC mandates for E911 and the rise of public safety-focused command and situational awareness applications. I shared the relative benefits of software hybrid location, which Polaris Wireless offers, compared to device-based and localized solutions. I then introduced the concept of going ‘over the top’ of wireless networks to offer truly universal 3D location on an open platform that developers can easily integrate with.
Eddie Reyes, my recent co-author, then took the baton, providing a compelling end-user perspective based on his experiences with the Public Safety Communications Center in Prince William County, Virginia. Just last month, he had a 911 call where the caller could barely speak and couldn’t provide any location detail to the operator. Without high-accuracy location technology, finding the exact location of the caller would have been impossible and instead of saving the man’s life, a much less happy result would have been likely.
Reg Jones from Samsung shared exciting forward-looking technology and explained to the audience how public safety is a key focus of Samsung as it develops its partnerships, including with Orion Labs, whose Co-Founder and CTO Greg Albrecht, closed out the panel. Greg presented a compelling video use case highlighting the use of 3D location for team communication and lone worker safety.
The audience was very engaged and asked some great questions. We are very appreciative to the organizer of IACP for conducting such a great event and inviting us to speak on this important topic. We hope to be in front of this audience again at the IACP Annual Conference in Chicago in October!
