Geocoder Device for MSAG-Validated Address Geocoding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current public safety infrastructure faces challenges in automatically and reliably delivering location information to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) for wireless devices and VoIP systems, as they often rely on static street addresses, which are not applicable to mobile devices, and lack credible databases for MSAG-validated addresses, especially for VoIP users who can make calls from anywhere.
Innovation Solution
A geocoder device and method that associates latitude/longitude locations with entries in a Metro Street Address Guide (MSAG) database, creating a lat/lon association database to determine validated street addresses, enabling quick identification of the closest PSAP for emergency services by geocoding MSAG-validated street address data and integrating lat/lon information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If static street address tables are used for E911 routing, then wireline emergency services can be provided reliably, but wireless and VoIP devices with changing locations cannot be properly served
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static address tables to dynamic location determination using GPS coordinates and cell tower triangulation. The E911 routing now adapts to the caller's current position rather than relying on fixed address assignments, enabling reliable emergency service delivery for mobile devices.
Solution Approach 2:
A new location information server acts as an intermediary between the caller and the E911 routing system. This server receives location data from GPS and cell towers, processes it to determine the closest PSAP, and routes the call accordingly, bridging the gap between mobile location data and traditional emergency service infrastructure.
2Measurement precision
If GPS location data is used for mobile devices, then location information can be obtained, but MSAG validation of the location cannot be performed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary geocoding of MSAG address points to GPS coordinates before runtime. This pre-computed mapping allows the system to quickly validate mobile device locations against the MSAG database by comparing their GPS coordinates with pre-processed address point data, maintaining both location precision and validation reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copied and transformed version of the MSAG database, converting traditional address data into GPS coordinate format. This copied structure maintains the hierarchical relationships and validation rules of the original MSAG while being compatible with mobile device location data, enabling MSAG validation for GPS-based locations.
3Measurement precision
If a comprehensive database of MSAG-validated addresses is created, then emergency routing accuracy improves, but database size and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the comprehensive MSAG database into hierarchical levels: state-level databases containing major cities, and county-level databases for more granular locations. This segmentation allows the system to query only the relevant portion of the database based on the caller's location, improving routing accuracy while reducing the effective database size and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the database are optimized with different levels of detail and validation strictness. Urban areas with dense address grids receive more granular GPS coordinate mappings and stricter validation rules, while rural areas use coarser mappings. This local quality approach improves routing accuracy where needed without uniformly increasing database complexity everywhere.
Data Source
AI summary
Master Street Address Guide (MSAG)-validated street address data is correlated with real-world geographic (e.g., latitude/longitude) data. Conventional MSAG-validated street address data is processed, or geocoded, into an additional (or integrated) database that associates latitude/longitude information with a particular entry in the existing MSAG-validated database. The association of the lat/lon data may be direct, or indirect using link ID or other unique tags indicating a particular entry in the MSAG-validated database. The geocoding need be performed only once by a service provider, e.g., as part of the deployment of an emergency service system. In this way, the closest public service answering point (PSAP) to a given latitude/longitude position of a wireless or VoIP device may be determined quickly, providing emergency services with the smallest possible reliable response time.