Emergency Comms

Communicating effectively during an emergency with intelligent handsets

By Amelia Kwok | 17 October 2008

There’s more to emergency communications than a walkie talkie. We evaluate the criteria that responders look for when choosing the appropriate handsets, and the challenge of deploying a rich media experience in emergency situations.

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When a crisis occurs, the time between the incident and the applied action is crucial. Effective communication during and after an incident can drastically alter the outcome. “One minute can mean the difference between life and death. The need for regular and up-to-date information is critical to the department’s success in responding promptly to emergency situations,” said David Zuill, Manager, Geographic Information for Public Safety, Department of Emergency Services, Queensland, Australia.

Increasingly, emergency responders are finding themselves in need of handsets that are able to integrate and display location-based data during a crisis.

“In urban environments, where the line of sight is very limited, one can oversee a rescue team hidden by, for example, a building. For this reason, a 3D display of the situation on mobile handsets would help officers have a better view of the situation,” said a spokesperson at EADS.

According to Mohan Acharya, Head of IT Infrastructure Services at the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) in India, “the police in India are using the narrow-band Very High Frequency (VHF) radio equipment for their internal communication purposes. Normally, each district will have a control centre, every police station will have a static station and each patrol vehicle will have a mobile radio working on VHF.”

However, Mohan says that “the police departments in India are looking to switch to the most advanced radio systems TETRA, which will see an inbuilt Global Positioning System (GPS) which will enable the control room to know the exact location of the patrol vehicles and police personnel.”

Over at the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), the emergency responders use the Trunked Radio System (TRS) in the vehicles. In a TRS, all users share a pool of frequencies. Users are assigned a group ID and field radios are programmed to only pick-up transmissions for that group. A computer, called the site controller, automatically assigns a frequency for users belonging to the same group to communicate with each other. This is done over a data channel also known as the control channel, which carries data that tells field radios what frequency they are on.
“The TRS is our primary emergency voice communications means. It is highly secure and supports collaborative operations between related groups of users. TRS also supports data transmission between SCDF headquarters and responding vehicles enroute or at incident sites. For back-up, SCDF leverages on commercial entities for example, cellular phones,” said R. Jeganathan, Director, Technology Department, SCDF Headquarters.

Similarly in India, an Automatic Vehicle Location Tracking (AVLT) system uses GPS and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology to locate and track ambulances.

“As the AVLT device transmits GPS coordinates continuously, the emergency response centre will then be able to guide the personnel to navigate to the incident location or the nearest hospital,” said Mohan.

Cater to the environment

The difference in weather and work environment determines the criteria in evaluating the appropriate handset for emergency responders.

“The requirements of emergency responder handsets vary widely based on their basic needs, terrain, area to be covered, number of personnel and so on. In places with extreme temperature, humidity and rainfall, equipment should be carefully chosen and handsets need to be resilient enough to ensure its functionality,” said Mohan.

Work environment also affects the chosen handset. “Personnel in different suits like the hazmat, who specialises in detection and containment of hazardous chemicals, and are fully encapsulated, firefighter or rescuer, poses different requirements and restrains for communications equipment. It is important that the sets are able to operate in hazardous environments,” said Jeganathan at the SCDF.

Besides that, emergency responders also require the latest form of technology to fulfil their duties better.

“For example, for the defence sector, handsets used for voice communication should have high-quality speakers if there are multiple users. Hands-free facilities with bluetooth technology should be provided for a single user. Also, the handset should be able to interface with other equipments. Other factors also include high data transfer ability, superior signal reception, computer interface and interference should be kept to a minimum,” said Mohan.

“There are a few criteria that SCDF looks out for when selecting handsets. The ergonomics of the handsets is essential – lightweight and of a reasonable size to carry around. Also, the handsets should encompass rich built-in functionality for example, Bluetooth and other high-tech capabilities for data communications. Lastly, the availability of accessories such as a microphone or any other mouthpiece related equipment suitable for use in different operational environments,” said Jeganathan.

Different environment warrants the need for different functions. In extreme weather conditions and harsh environments, the chosen handset needs to be resilient enough to ensure its functionality. An example is the EADS TPH700 handheld radio “designed for use in adverse conditions and made of robust material which protects it from damage and corrosion, while incorporating bluetooth facility,” said a spokesperson at EADS.

Phonak has recently launched Primero, an earpiece that incorporates a microphone and Voice Intra-aural Pick-up, while being compatible with all professional portable radios. According to Gelek Tashi, manager for the Asian market at Phonak, “Primero is useful in circumstances where clear communication in hazardous environments is needed and obstructive headgear is making the operation difficult. If a built-in communication system is used, communication will go down once the helmet is down.”

It is estimated that by 2011, 29.6 per cent of all mobile handsets shipped will have GPS capability, up from 11.1 per cent in 2006. Driving this is the US government’s mandate for Emergency 911 capability as well as wireless operators’ initiatives to offer location-based services. This is an apparent recognition of GPS’ benefits on handsets.

Rich media handsets - a boon and a bane

Despite the ever expanding rich media functionalities on handsets, supporting the equipment also poses challenges for responders. An issue is bandwidth problem.

“Current commercial telecom network does not support high speed data transfer. Also, connectivity and transmission depends mainly on regular telecom networks as they are often not reliable at remote, high density areas,” said Mohan.

On the other hand, educating staff to handle and use the device accurately and to maximise its potential is another problem.

“SCDF employs a few strategies to educate users and to reduce users’ resistance. Prior to the roll out, there would be users’ training which will consist of the Basic Officers’ Course training module, daily drills and exercises. There will also be periodic ‘refresher’ training,” said Jeganathan.

There is also the issue of interfacing transmission equipment to vehicle-mounted devices like GPS, deliberator and other life saving equipment, according to Mohan. Similarly, at the SCDF, new handsets and functionality present compatibility issues with existing backend systems or server infrastructure.

“To overcome this, careful studies are conducted before introducing new handsets. Where necessary, existing backend systems may be enhanced or an entirely new system may be set up,” said Jeganathan.

The use of emergency communication handsets has helped countries cater fast and efficient public security relief to the population. However, the current state of public safety still has some room for improvement.

“The trend towards location-based portable device in the defence sector is evident for example, GPS mobile telephone handsets and simplistic carrier cell site location information has been available for a number of years. Despite this there’s been no drive by the regulators to adopt these improvements within the emergency call location identification process. These core capabilities would significantly enhance the existing response system. Existing carrier networks can already provide greatly enhanced location information for mobile emergency callers as part of the core design of the systems,” said Stephen Moore, Project Manager State Communications Centre Review, Office of the Assistant Commissioner Service Planning and Resourcing, Queensland Ambulance Service, Australia.