Earlier this summer I looked at the growing number of mobile apps that utilize location tracking as a central part of their service.  Apps like Density and WiFi Aware providing a range of location based services to individuals and business alike.

One of the more crucial uses of location is in the requesting of emergency services.  Traditionally, despite some 70% of emergency calls being made by mobile phones, dispatch systems rely on landline based location systems that often fail to accurately do this.

Now, a MIT based startup are aiming to rectify that with a one touch 911 app that feeds the location of the caller accurately to dispatch staff.

The startup, called RapidSOS, raised over $60,000 on Kickstarter and offers users a simple way to send both location information but also preset medical data to dispatch centers.

Rapid response

With mobile location data becoming increasingly precise, it offers dispatch teams a reliable and accurate means of getting to an individual as quickly as possible.

The app was tested thoroughly at dispatch centers across the US, and is due for a commercial release in December.

It’s envisaged that the core users of the app will be insurance companies due to the hug savings they could make from better location services, with one study suggesting a saving of $92 billion per year could be made.

Most current centers utilize dispatch systems that were designed in the 60s and use triangulation to determine the location of the caller.  Alas, this system is far from accurate and calls often drop before a location is fixed.

“The phone call will always go to the dispatch center the cell tower is connected to,” the developers explain. “When you end up at the wrong center, they don’t have the radio system or maps to find out where you are, so they need to connect to a local dispatch center that knows.”

The to-ing and fro-ing from center to center as staff try and locate you takes up valuable minutes that could be crucial in your successful treatment.

The location data already in smartphones tends to do a much better job.  Not only does RapidSOS route location data however.  Users can also preload medical data, including allergies, current medications and so on, to the app, and that is sent across too so that emergency staff are as well informed as possible.

What’s more, all of this data is available on the same software that is currently used in centers.  It all seems something of a no brainer, doesn’t it?

The markets clearly think so, as in addition to the successful crowdfunding, the project has also secured $5 million in venture capital this past August.

Certainly a project well worth keeping an eye on.