iPhone app helps police "see" through walls
Law enforcement officials are using SafetyNet Mobile, a powerful new iPhone app, to fight crime; the app allows police officers to quickly access all emergency dispatch information including maps, warnings, hazard information, and other critical data; to access the emergency dispatch database, the officer simply points the iPhone or iPad’s camera at a location; this technology allows police to “see” behind doors or walls by alerting them to any potential dangers inside; the app installs on any iPhone or iPad; SafetyNet Mobile has been successfully tested by three police departments in California and is currently being rolled out
A powerful new iPhone app is helping law enforcement officials fight crime.
The app, SafetyNet Mobile Insight, allows police officers quickly to access all emergency dispatch information including maps, warnings, hazard information, and other critical data.
Officers can remotely pull up data from the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system from the 911 communication center by simply pointing an iPhone or iPad’s camera at a location.
“Now the officer on foot, on horseback, on a bicycle or motorcycle, can have a powerful computer system at his belt,” said Henry Unger, the president of Hitech Systems, Inc., one of the firms behind the new app.
“That officer or firefighter can know what’s behind the door, accessing a deep history of the premises, including past emergency calls, and much else. It makes for smarter responses, safer officers, and a safer public,” he said.
The app relies on the latest trend in mobile computing, “augmented reality,” which links databases to physical locations and allows users to quickly pull up information on that place.
Ray Camrass, of Fusion Technology Group, Hitech’s partner in creating SafetyNet, describes the apps potential to keep police officers safe.
“With its Augmented Reality, a law enforcement official can “see” behind bricks and doors, into a target premises for possible dangers, hazards, and its history before going in,” he says.
The app is relatively cheap and easy to implement as it installs on any Apple iPhone or iPad. The technology has been successfully tested in three police departments in California and is currently being implemented by other agencies.
“The SafetyNet Mobile iPhone application allows our officers to quickly scan a neighborhood with its heads up display to identify potential hazardous locations or wanted suspects. Mobile applications are no longer tied to our patrol cars, but mobile with the officer when they face the most danger,” said Lt. Wayne Hoss of the San Mateo Police Department, which tested the app.
SafteyNet Mobile was developed by Hitech Systems and Fusion Technology Group. It relies on Hitech’sSafetyNet, a powerful database and software tool that law enforcement, fire, and EMS agencies use across North America to manage their emergency response information.
