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Continuing with our series of features on mobile data, this month we take a closer look at the impact that the technology is having on the control room environment, drawing on the expertise of a number of suppliers currently providing applications to the public safety sector across the UK...
Mobile data applications are certainly beginning to prove their worth, not only for the officer in the field but also from the control room operators viewpoint. In fact, as the technology is adopted and applications developed further to aid efficiency, the demands placed on the control room are also evolving.
Commenting, Iain Ivory, TETRA Market Development Manager, EMEA, Motorola said, “Although discussing the impact that mobile data is having on the control room, the people best placed to answer are the control room staff themselves, however we do have a good insight into this area through talking to our customers and understanding the requirements for mobile data - and the objective of implementing it.
“In most cases the objective of mobile data solutions is to improve operational efficiency, effectiveness and improve user safety through increased intelligence in the field - and the control room. When discussing mobile data, the common perception is of making information and intelligence available in the field, but this is only one element, mobile data is also about improving data and intelligence gathering from the field.
“With this in mind the impact on the control room can be significant. Giving users access to information sources using devices such as the new Motorola TETRA PDA on the Airwave network, reduces the need for resources within a control room to respond to voice requests for manual checks. This potentially frees up resources for other duties.”
Nick Chorley, public safety consultant, Intergraph agrees, “Whilst the traditional impact on the control room is for reduced voice traffic as status and location are transmitted digitally, this facility is now available more generally via Airwave handsets and therefore this function no longer drives the need for MDTs. The impact will therefore now be that more searches and enquiries can be achieved digitally and remotely, thus leading to reduced voice traffic and less operator time spent performing searches. Some data entry will also be done wirelessly by-passing the operator and freeing them up to get on with the job of managing and directing resources, rather than data flow. However, data entry on mobile data terminals is still rather impractical in most field situations, it is therefore more likely that this will continue to be done by voice transcription in the immediate future.”
Utilising Lancashire Constabulary again as a prime example of mobile data usage, the force has already begun to identify that the benefits of its force-wide mobile data solution not only assists in cutting down the time officers spend in police stations, but also reducing unnecessary radio messages and thereby relieving pressure on over-stretched police control rooms.
Shared resources
Viewed from the control room, improved data gathering through developments such as integrated GPS receivers in handheld as well as vehicle based radios allows dispatchers to see where resources are. When combined with other data applications such as status reporting and resource asset databases. A control room can dispatch the most appropriate resource based on capability, equipment and proximity to the incident, providing a more effective response.
Continuing Ivory suggests, “As devices such as our TETRA PDA are deployed, users will be able to capture information in the field directly into the PDA, including images using the integrated camera. This information can then be sent to the control room and potentially shared with other responders too. These applications improve the flow of information and intelligence from the field to aid the decision making process.”
In line with this view, Beat Systems, has announced a number of product enhancements that will help improve the effectiveness of Police Officers in the field. The addition of voice recognition and text to speech will allow an officer to make a single voice activated request via a PDA or other mobile device and receive an automated audio reply. Voice requests will be channelled through their “Single Point Functionality Technology” allowing the officer to have full and simultaneous read and write access across all back end systems. Steve McDermott, Technical Director at Beat Systems explains, “The current system uses a unified forms front end on each device type to create a single request for information across all the Police force back end systems. The addition of voice recognition allows a Police Officer to keep his hands free while making a request for information. This offers an increased level of flexibility and safety while on the beat.Police officers are focused on ‘encounters and information’ and they should not be constrained by the need to manage multiple logins and user interfaces in order to access important information held in their back end systems. They need all key information for that encounter simultaneously.” Beat Systems is now also piloting a new ‘in-car’ system that includes an option for ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition). This will provide an additional automated data input to the system that can utilise the rich functional capability of its fully integrated solution.
