The Florida-based company has partnered with NextNav, a California-based seller of geolocation technology, to integrate vertical locations into its computer-aided dispatch products and other public safety software, according to a statement.
CentralSquare will now have access to the NextNav Pinnacle network, which provides floor-level geolocation data to users.
That means that CentralSquare can provide public safety agencies with what it calls “critical vertical data location” that can help those first responders get a more precise fix on people in need of emergency assistance. First responders using this tool can find efficient routes through buildings with multiple stories, for example.
The partnership also will offer three-dimensional views for those responders. Field trials of this technology will take place shortly, and CentralSquare said it expects a rollout in autumn.
“Together with NextNav, we’re helping public safety agencies meet the needs of today’s dynamic world, particularly in densely populated urban cities,” said David Zolet, CEO of CentralSquare, in that statement. “Adding z-axis enables our systems to not only derive location (x-axis and y-axis) but height (z-axis). This capability is the next logical step, decreasing emergency response times and ultimately helping to protect our communities and those that serve them.”
The NextNav Pinnacle network covers some 4,400 localities and can cover more than 90 percent of U.S. buildings that have three stories or more, according to the statement.
“Expanding access to the life-saving z-axis capabilities our Pinnacle network provides is a top priority for us,” said Ganesh Pattabiraman, CEO and co-founder of NextNav, in the statement. “CentralSquare is the largest provider for dispatch solutions signed to our ecosystem to date, bringing actionable floor-level insights to a vast number of individuals and scenarios.”
CentralSquare says it works with more than 75 percent of U.S. public safety agencies, and this move reflects the growing trend to provide ever more precise and real-time data to emergency dispatch centers, police, EMTs and firefighters.
That trend applies to a variety of use cases.
Recently, for instance, public safety technology provider RapidSOS announced it was working with online insurance company Lemonade on an app tool designed to detect vehicle crashes in real time and quickly pass along that data to 911 call centers.
