Image: Polaris
Phone users can now be located by emergency responders within one floor level inside multi-story buildings
Polaris Wireless, an innovator of high-accuracy software-based wireless location solutions, announces the company’s Z-axis location solution is commercially available nationwide.
The technology — demonstrated to meet the 3-meter vertical location accuracy requirement of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — is integrated into Schok Gear’s newly released flip phones.
Schok’s flip phones are typically used by consumers looking for a simple, yet powerful flip phone, that can now be accurately located in emergencies. Adding indoor and vertical location to these devices enables first responders to locate all wireless 911 callers with floor-level accuracy in multi-story buildings.
“This is a major milestone for the 911 industry to deliver FCC-compliant Z-axis emergency location technology for users of feature phones” said Manlio Allegra, CEO and Founder of Polaris Wireless. “Working with Schok and their partners has been straightforward and it’s exciting to see for the first time the complete Z-axis solution commercially available in a flip phone.”
“The Polaris Wireless location software was seamlessly integrated with our existing location and chipset vendors” said Samuel Gutiérrez, chairman and CEO, Schok, LLC. “Our Schok flip feature phone passed Tier I carrier acceptance testing, which for the first time included Z-axis location. Now our customers can be assured their accurate vertical location will enable first responders to find them faster in an emergency.”
The vertical component of wireless location is critical in today’s environment when most 911 calls are placed by mobile phones and increasingly indoors, where location determination is particularly challenging. Accurate indoor wireless location is a game-changer for first responders to quickly get to where they are needed, regardless of the phone being used by callers. The Polaris Wireless Z-axis service is available seamlessly nationwide for public safety and commercial deployments.