Emergency Communication Redundancy via Personal Area Network Collaboration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Public safety personnel face challenges in ensuring that emergency and back-up requests are effectively communicated in high-stress situations due to coverage holes, network congestion, and task focus, leading to potential safety risks as non-mission critical devices lack adequate user interfaces for emergency environments.
Innovation Solution
A communication system that enables multiple devices to form a personal area network (PAN) and collaborate in emergency modes, using features like push-to-talk (PTT), text messaging, and emergency detection via buttons, sensors, and biometrics, to ensure redundant transmission of emergency information across different networks and devices, including CAD consoles and external communication systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If public safety personnel use non-mission critical devices (cell phones, PDAs) for emergency communication, then device availability and ease of access are improved, but reliability and safety are worsened due to lack of dedicated emergency interfaces and network dependency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines mission-critical and non-mission-critical devices into a unified communication system where both device types can initiate and receive emergency alerts. The system merges the accessibility benefits of personal devices with the reliability of dedicated public safety equipment through coordinated communication protocols and shared alert distribution infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The emergency alert system is designed to be universal, supporting multiple device types (radios, cell phones, PDAs) and communication networks simultaneously. The system can route alerts through any available device or network, making the emergency communication capability applicable across diverse user scenarios and infrastructure conditions.
2Speed
If PTT voice requests are used for back-up resource communication, then real-time communication capability is improved, but communication reliability is worsened due to coverage holes, network congestion, and task focus issues
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where receiving devices send acknowledgments to transmitting devices to confirm alert delivery. This feedback loop allows the system to detect failed transmissions and trigger retransmission protocols, ensuring reliable delivery even in challenging network conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing communication channels and alert routing paths before emergencies occur. During high-stress situations, alerts are immediately transmitted through pre-configured multiple pathways, eliminating the need for real-time routing decisions and reducing communication delays.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple communication devices and networks are used for emergency alerts, then system versatility and backup capability are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces intermediary components including gateway devices and protocol translators that mediate between different communication networks and device types. These intermediaries handle the complexity of multi-network coordination, authentication, and message routing, allowing end users to benefit from system versatility without directly managing the underlying complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A communication system (100) provides collaboration amongst a plurality of communication devices (110, 112, 114, 116, 120) during emergency conditions. Emergency trigger(s) are used to detect an emergency condition. Emergency information is collected and can be shared and appended amongst the communication devices prior to the emergency information being transferred in a redundant manner across a plurality communication systems (140, 142) to a plurality of external devices (130, 144, 146).