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Tag: multi-storey

  • Polaris Wireless provides E911 z-axis for Schok flip phones

    Polaris Wireless provides E911 z-axis for Schok flip phones

    Image: Polaris
    Image: Polaris

    Phone users can now be located by emergency responders within one floor level inside multi-story buildings 

    Polaris Wireless, an innovator of high-accuracy software-based wireless location solutions, announces the company’s Z-axis location solution is commercially available nationwide.

    The technology — demonstrated to meet the 3-meter vertical location accuracy requirement of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — is integrated into Schok Gear’s newly released flip phones.

    Schok’s flip phones are typically used by consumers looking for a simple, yet powerful flip phone, that can now be accurately located in emergencies. Adding indoor and vertical location to these devices enables first responders to locate all wireless 911 callers with floor-level accuracy in multi-story buildings.

    “This is a major milestone for the 911 industry to deliver FCC-compliant Z-axis emergency location technology for users of feature phones” said Manlio Allegra, CEO and Founder of Polaris Wireless. “Working with Schok and their partners has been straightforward and it’s exciting to see for the first time the complete Z-axis solution commercially available in a flip phone.”

    “The Polaris Wireless location software was seamlessly integrated with our existing location and chipset vendors” said Samuel Gutiérrez, chairman and CEO, Schok, LLC. “Our Schok flip feature phone passed Tier I carrier acceptance testing, which for the first time included Z-axis location. Now our customers can be assured their accurate vertical location will enable first responders to find them faster in an emergency.”

    The vertical component of wireless location is critical in today’s environment when most 911 calls are placed by mobile phones and increasingly indoors, where location determination is particularly challenging. Accurate indoor wireless location is a game-changer for first responders to quickly get to where they are needed, regardless of the phone being used by callers. The Polaris Wireless Z-axis service is available seamlessly nationwide for public safety and commercial deployments.

  • NextNav to deliver high-precision vertical location for 911

    NextNav to deliver high-precision vertical location for 911

    NextNav’s Pinnacle 911 will deliver Z-axis capabilities with floor-level accuracy for wireless 911 calls in more than 4,400 cities and towns across the United States.

    Photo: vichie81/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
    Photo: vichie81/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

    NextNav has entered into an agreement with one of the nation’s largest wireless carriers, not yet named, to deliver vertical location for Enhanced 911 (E911), using NextNav’s Pinnacle 911.

    Pinnacle 911 leverages the barometric sensors already available in phones, tablets and other devices to deliver “floor-level” altitude measurements that exceed the FCC mandate for 3-meter accuracy. The Pinnacle service compares device data to local conditions, subtracting the weather and other factors to leave behind a highly accurate altitude measurement.

    NextNav altitude stations create a hyperlocal model of environmental conditions. The precisely surveyed, high-density network delivers “floor level” real-time altitude data nationwide.

    NextNav’s dedicated, managed network makes Pinnacle available throughout metropolitan areas, providing comprehensive coverage that scales to meet a variety of use cases.

    The delivery of vertical location to public safety answering points (PSAPs) nationwide will improve emergency response in the United States. It enables first responders to accurately locate wireless 911 callers in multi-story buildings, enhancing both safety and response times, and helping to save lives.

    With NextNav’s Pinnacle 911 reaching more than 4,400 cities and towns in the United States, including 90% of buildings above three stories, implementation of the service will exceed the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Z-axis requirement for nationwide E911.

    “For over two decades, one of public safety’s key needs has been 3D geolocation information — especially floor-level vertical location,” said Ganesh Pattabiraman, CEO of NextNav. “Partnering with one of the nation’s largest wireless carriers to deliver precise, Z-axis information will not only improve geolocation information for PSAPs, but save lives by reducing emergency response times by more than 80%. This adoption of our Pinnacle technology for 911 marks a historic step forward for communities around the nation, and public safety as a whole.”

    In an independent evaluation by the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association commissioned by the FCC, Pinnacle was able to deliver floor-level accuracy (defined as ±3 m) 94% of the time, consistently exceeding the 80% benchmark set by the FCC.

    NextNav’s Pinnacle service enables applications and technologies that rely on precise altitude data across industries, including public safety, mobile apps and gaming, lone worker tracking as well as out-of-home retail experiences.

    NextNav’s extensive list of existing partners and customers includes AT&T FirstNet, Intrepid Networks, 3am, TRX Systems, Qualcomm, Bosch, Unity and Unreal Engine.