UNT team dialing up better 911<\/p>\n
Internet, mobile phone sources pose problems for emergency system<\/p>\n
12:41 AM CST on Sunday, February 15, 2009<\/p>\n
By Candace Carlisle \/ Staff Writer<\/p>\n
When a driver crashes a car on the highway and all the occupants are
\nknocked out, who would call 911?<\/p>\n
The answer could be your cellphone, says Ram Dantu, a professor of
\ncomputer science and engineering and director for Center for
\nInformation and Computer Security at the University of North Texas.<\/p>\n
Programming your phone to detect a rollover and dispatch emergency
\nofficials to the scene is one partial solution to a larger predicament
\nof outdated 911 services, Dantu said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe existing 911 technology is completely outdated. The whole
\nthing needs to be updated,\u201d Dantu said.<\/p>\n
Emergency dispatchers also are unable to locate some callers who use
\nInternet-based phones \u2014 employing \u201cvoice over Internet protocol\u201d
\n\u2014 that provide inaccurate locations with wide variances, which can
\ncause fatal delays, he said.<\/p>\n
Those locations could vary to such a degree that someone calling for
\nhelp in Denton could appear to be calling from Singapore, hindering
\nthe work of 911 dispatchers, Dantu said.<\/p>\n
Reports of delayed emergency response times and misdirected
\nambulances have increased across the country, leading to a government
\nmandate to solve the problem.<\/p>\n
Solving the problem has become so important that the National Science
\nFoundation gave Dantu two research grants totaling more than $1
\nmillion to overhaul 911 technology.<\/p>\n
The grants \u2014 one aimed at infrastructure and the other for research
\n\u2014 will be important for everyone in the country, said Taieb Znati, a
\ndivision director at the National Science Foundation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith 911 Internet, you have to address multiple issues,\u201d Znati
\nsaid. \u201cIt was an exciting proposal that was highly competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said National Science Foundation grants are only given to about 10
\npercent of applicants each year.<\/p>\n
But Dantu, who has worked at high-level positions in the private
\ntechnology sector, has earned six grants in a row within the last
\nthree years.<\/p>\n
He will lead the research group \u2014 his team along with researchers
\nfrom Columbia University and Texas A&M University \u2014 that he hopes
\nwill help bring next generation emergency services to the country.<\/p>\n
Along with getting 911 services up to speed, Dantu and his research
\nteam are looking at ways to secure 911 call centers from online
\nthreats and guarantee emergency service during times of heavy phone
\nusage, such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
The research team will also work to enhance services for the deaf and
\nhearing-impaired, he said.<\/p>\n
Dantu said new technology has the potential to change the industry by
\ncreating a form of artificial intelligence in cellphones that can
\npredict the behavior of their owners and assist them.<\/p>\n
One of Dantu\u2019s research assistants, Lonnie Langle, is working on
\nupdating an accelerometer \u2014 much like a video game controller that
\ncan detect movement \u2014 to register a rollover and call 911.<\/p>\n
Langle said he has started simulations on a toy car to gauge speed
\nand stop motions that could indicate an accident.<\/p>\n
Dantu said government trials could be ready in a matter of months,
\nbut consumers will have to wait.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe technology we\u2019re developing is futuristic,\u201d Dantu said.
\n\u201cThe deployment to real people could be in another five years.\u201d<\/p>\n
CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address
\nis ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.<\/p>\n
Source:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.dentonrc.com\/sharedcontent\/dws\/drc\/localnews\/stories\/DRC_911_0215.18f65ecb.html<\/p>\n
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UNT team dialing up better 911 Internet, mobile phone sources pose problems for emergency system 12:41 AM CST on Sunday, February 15, 2009 By Candace Carlisle \/ Staff Writer When a driver crashes a car on the highway and all…<\/p>\n