Emergency Source Tracking via Two-Way SMS Safety Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current emergency notification systems lack efficient two-way communication and emergency source tracking features, limiting the ability to derive meaningful user responses and pinpoint the source of emergencies, especially in environments like campuses, hospitals, and businesses.
Innovation Solution
A community safety system that enables bi-directional communication via common short code SMS notifications, allowing users to send free-form messages, determines user location and organization association, and relays messages to relevant administrators, while providing emergency source tracking through user location mapping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If one-way SMS broadcast notification systems are used, then emergency information can be sent to all registered users simultaneously, but users cannot provide meaningful free-form responses or contact administrators regarding developing emergencies
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces feedback mechanisms by enabling users to send free-form SMS responses to broadcast notifications. The notification management entity processes these responses and relays them to administrators, creating a closed-loop communication system where information flows both ways, allowing users to provide real-time feedback about emergency conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a universal SMS communication platform that handles multiple functions: broadcasting emergency notifications to all users, receiving free-form responses from users, identifying user locations through phone number mapping, and relaying information between users and administrators. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate dedicated devices for different communication purposes.
2Device complexity
If preprogrammed responses are required for SMS replies, then system processing is simplified, but the scope of meaningful user responses is severely limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables users to independently compose and send free-form SMS responses without being constrained by preprogrammed options. The notification management entity automatically processes these user-generated messages, extracting relevant information and routing them to appropriate administrators, thereby maintaining system simplicity while capturing comprehensive user information.
Solution Approach 2:
The notification management entity serves as an intermediary that bridges users and administrators. It receives free-form SMS responses from users, processes the information through automated phone number and location lookups, and relays relevant details to administrators, thereby managing information flow complexity without restricting user expression.
3Reliability
If dedicated devices like call boxes are deployed for emergency reporting, then emergency communication channels are established, but system deployment complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system leverages the universality of mobile phones as emergency communication devices. Users can report emergencies using their existing personal mobile devices through SMS messaging, eliminating the need for dedicated call boxes or specialized emergency reporting equipment. The notification management entity handles all communication processing through standard SMS protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces physical dedicated devices (call boxes, emergency phones) with electronic SMS-based communication through mobile phones. This substitution eliminates the need for installing and maintaining physical infrastructure while achieving comparable or superior communication reliability through the widespread penetration of mobile phone technology.
4Measurement precision
If emergency source tracking features are added to notification systems, then responders can pinpoint emergency locations, but system complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The notification management entity acts as an intermediary that automatically performs location tracking by looking up user phone numbers in a database to determine their associated locations and organizations. This automated process extracts location information from user responses without requiring complex tracking hardware or manual location input from users, thereby achieving precise emergency source tracking through simplified data processing.
Data Source
AI summary
A community safety system (CSS) including a notification management entity (NME) comprising servers, the NME communicatively coupled to multiple user devices and one or more administrator devices (collectively, registered user devices). The CSS includes a plurality of registered users, wherein registered users may share their own location, as well as sighting information about the location of a source of an emergency (e.g. a perpetrator) with the NME of the CSS. The NME may generate and provide display objects on a visualization interface of one or more users mobile devices displaying a map, the display objects indicative of user locations and/or emergency source location in the map displayed (e.g., in accordance with the map coordinate system).