GPS World

Tag: vertical location

  • Public-sector provider partners with NextNav for vertical location

    Public-sector provider partners with NextNav for vertical location

    Photo: LeoPatrizi/E+/Getty Images
    Photo: LeoPatrizi/E+/Getty Images

    NextNav is partnering with CentralSquare Technologies, a public-sector technology company, to integrate z-axis vertical location capabilities into its computer-aided dispatch products and mobile suite of public safety software solutions.

    CentralSquare works with more than 75% of public safety agencies nationwide, including first responders, law enforcement, fire departments, emergency medical services and local governments, equipping them with real-time data and situational awareness to decrease emergency response times.

    By tapping into NextNav’s Pinnacle network, CentralSquare will be able to provide public safety agencies with critical vertical location data needed to precisely pinpoint the location of civilians in need of assistance during an emergency.

    The integration of Pinnacle into CentralSquare’s product suite will provide users with enhanced knowledge of the most efficient routes within multi-story buildings to further reduce response times.

    “Together with NextNav, we’re helping public safety agencies meet the needs of today’s dynamic world, particularly in densely populated urban cities,” said David Zolet, CEO of CentralSquare. “Adding z-axis enables our systems to not only derive location (x-axis and y-axis) but height (z-axis). This capability is the next logical step, decreasing emergency response times and ultimately helping to protect our communities and those that serve them.”

    CentralSquare’s partnership with NextNav further establishes the company as the market leader in public safety dispatch solutions with the addition of floor-level accurate z-axis location. Once deployed, CentralSquare will deliver z-axis visualization in a 3D view, bringing visualization to their agencies and clients’ first responders. Field trials of the technology will begin towards the end of the summer, with an initial rollout anticipated in the fall.

    The Pinnacle network delivers precise vertical location in 4,400 cities and towns, covering more than 90% of buildings greater than three stories in the United States, enabling better situational awareness for first responders. Earlier this year, a tier-one wireless carrier selected NextNav Pinnacle to bring z-axis capabilities to wireless 9-1-1 phone calls to enhance caller geolocation and emergency response outcomes.

    “Expanding access to the life-saving z-axis capabilities our Pinnacle network provides is a top priority for us. Partnering with CentralSquare allows us to use this technology to positively impact the lives of the majority of public safety workers in the United States,” said Ganesh Pattabiraman, CEO and co-founder of NextNav. “CentralSquare is the largest provider for dispatch solutions signed to our ecosystem to date, bringing actionable floor-level insights to a vast number of individuals and scenarios. We’re growing our user base significantly, and along with it bolstering public safety and saving lives.”

  • 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.

  • FCC Acts to Help Emergency Responders Locate Wireless 911 Callers Indoors

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Communications Commission today proposed rules to help emergency responders better locate wireless callers to 911. The proposed updates to the FCC’s Enhanced 911 (E911) rules respond to Americans’ increasing use of wireless phones to call 911, especially from indoors, and take advantage of technological developments that allow for more accurate location information to be transmitted with 911 calls.

    The FCC’s current E911 rules require wireless providers to automatically transmit information to 911 call centers on the location of wireless 911 callers within certain parameters for accuracy. These rules, which were adopted in 1996 and underwent their last major revision in 2010, enable wireless providers to meet this accuracy standard based solely on the performance of outdoor wireless 911 calls.

    However, many Americans are replacing landlines with wireless phones, and calling patterns are changing. For example, reports indicate that nearly 73 percent of 911 calls in California are made from wireless phones, and approximately 80 percent of all smartphone use occurs indoors.

    In light of these trends, the FCC today proposed changes to its E911 rules to include indoor location accuracy — particularly location accuracy in challenging indoor environments such as large multi-story buildings, where first responders are often unable to determine the floor or even the building where the 911 call originated. Determining the location of indoor wireless callers is more challenging than determining an outdoor location, but innovation and technological developments in this area are making it easier to locate mobile devices wherever they are, the FCC said.

    The FCC proposes in the near term that wireless providers meet interim location accuracy metrics that would be sufficient to identify the building for most indoor calls. The FCC also proposes that wireless providers deliver vertical location information that would enable first responders to identify the floor level for most calls from multi-story buildings.

    In the long term, the FCC seeks to develop more granular indoor location accuracy standards that would require identification of the specific room, office, or apartment where a wireless 911 call is made, according to the statement by the FCC. These standards would rely on the advancing capabilities of indoor location technology and increasing deployment of in-building communications infrastructure.

    The FCC also proposed additional steps to strengthen its existing E911 rules to ensure delivery of more timely, accurate, and actionable location information for all wireless 911 calls. In addition, the FCC is seeking comment on whether to revisit its timeframe for replacing its current handset- and network-based location accuracy standards with a single standard in light of technological developments.
    While seeking comment on its proposals, the FCC also encouraged industry, the public safety community, and other stakeholders to work collaboratively to develop alternate proposals for its consideration. The FCC emphasized that its ultimate objective is that all Americans – whether they are calling from urban or rural areas, from indoors or outdoors – receive the support they need in times of emergency.