Bluetooth isn't just for hands-free headsets. The technology that has become ubiquitous in today's mobile phones also can be used to pinpoint 911 callers when they're inside homes, apartment buildings or skyscrapers.
WirelessWERX is in Denver for an APCO conference this week to show how its Bluetooth nodes in buildings can help a PSAP more accurately find callers. With more people giving up landlines for wireless-only services, it's even more important going forward, according to WirelessWERX CEO Steve Artim.
Specifically, WirelessWERX is showcasing how a PSAP in Denver is implementing its SiteWERX indoor location system to pinpoint a mobile 911 caller's location. Artim says SiteWERX can get as specific as the exact floor and room number. More than 50 percent of 911 calls are made on wireless devices, with half of those made indoors, he says.
Artim, who co-founded InnoPath Software, says he was attracted to WirelessWERX in 2008 for the safety aspect it offers. He recounts the story of a San Jose woman who suffered a heart attack but died before emergency medical personnel could locate her home – they had to check about 15 other houses in her neighborhood before they found her. Instances like that are happening all over the country, he says.
Wireless carriers are required by the FCC to report on their E911 accuracy, but they're not required to report at a level so specific as to the exact floor of a skyscraper from which a call is made. Callers who are alone have to be healthy enough to verbally tell a dispatcher where they are exactly, or they're more or less out of luck.
WirelessWERX consists of three components: Bluetooth on the handset, a node put in a building and a connection to the PSAP. A node might cost $80 or $100, with the idea being that building or apartment owners would pay for the nodes; some large universities see it as a way to ensure the safety of students.
The node can connect to the PSAP operator even if a person can't make a phone call from inside a garage or building.