PUTTING SYSTEM-WIDE CONTROL IN ONE PLACE
SafePoint by LocusUSA
Locate, manage and protect with SafePoint™.
SafePoint™ is an advanced radio location technology and resource management tool. It’s an interoperable system that tracks different trunked radio systems or protocols simultaneously. It allows dispatchers to:
- Zero in on transmissions
- Monitor public safety and security responders
- Identify duplicate radio IDs
- Identify failing radios
Based on Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) technology, SafePoint radio tracking system locates police officers, firefighters, EMS, public works, transit authority and other security or law-enforcement personnel quickly and easily, so agencies can act swiftly when needed.
SafePoint works across all platforms – no need to purchase or upgrade to costly equipment or void warranties on current equipment. Once the infrastructure is in place, multiple security and law enforcement agencies (fire, sheriff, public utilities, etc.) can share one system, keeping expenditures at a minimum.
SafePoint puts system-wide control in one central place.
The different Dispatcher workstations and Mobile Data Computers at each participating agency can access information and display the pertinent data on their own monitors, as well as record it into their database.
Icons on a display monitor differentiate between agencies, allowing emergency management to track, identify and allocate resources within all departments. Display monitors in separate departments can be configured to track only their own personnel (police only see police icons, fire only see fire icons).
This means-
- A single map combines agencies and jurisdictions’ spatial data
- Locations are displayed in real time
- Streamlined dispatch improves response time
- Easy interface to GIS/CAD
SafePoint is more efficient and less expensive than a system change or retrofit, and its radio location technology is able to track thousands of radios in real time.
CAD AND MDC INTERFACE
(Computer Aided Dispatch and Mobile Data Computer)
SafePoint CAD interface consists of the following applications:
- Interface of the SafePoint Radio Location database and information into the customers’
CAD mapping application:
- This allows the location information that SafePoint creates to be sent to your CAD mapping display
- Interface from the Officer’s MDC system:
- Allows the creation and integration of SafePoint Workgroups
- Allows the TrackerX users to select and view Workgroups of portable and mobile radios
- Allows the individual polling of portable and mobile radios
- Creates additional integration and display of the radio user’s ID and patrol/work zone/area
SafePoint™ tracks multiple radio protocols and networks concurrently, allowing agencies to create and manage their own workgroups and perimeters using radio signal triangulation technology on their existing system.
A display icon for each agency and asset (Police, Fire, EMS, Rescue, Aviation, etc.) makes it easy to pinpoint and locate radios.
This system works in all environments and conditions, and determines the location of its radios any time through passive, active or emergency location polling. It also runs self-diagnostics (DiagnostX) to check for failing radios.
TrackerX is the mapping application which displays the location of the radios as pre-assigned icons, grouped according to functionality, location, etc., at the discretion of dispatchers and supervisors.
TrackerXTractor software archives location data which is then available for training and incident reconstruction, a valuable investigative tool.
SafePoint™ facilitates:
- On-Site Management — provides critical resource logistics.
- Perimeter Management — helps monitor and limit access to incidents;
quickly secures scene perimeter. - Tactical Operations — supports multiple trunked systems, frequencies and protocols.
Facilitates rapid deployment of personnel and interoperability. - Training — uses incidents and information from TrackerXTractor as training and educational tools.
- ID Radios — locates cloned, lost and stolen radios; identifies authorized and unauthorized users.
NEW APPLICATIONS
Multi-floor In-building Location:
A proof of concept is currently being evaluated in the lab to detect and display in-building signal location. This application would be able to decipher where the transmission is emanating from, down to the building floor and quadrant.
Location and Proprietary Transmitters:
The SafePoint technology allows the ability to locate any RF transmission. This includes proprietary signals, such as those used for tracking vehicles or people, cellular devices, and public WiMax signals.
SOLE SOURCE SOLUTION
SafePoint™ is a cost-efficient system upgrade, an enhanced overlay that utilizes legacy equipment and infrastructure with no impact on the radio system, and no compromise in communications performance.
Because it works “on top of” an already established radio network, no custom or non-standard hardware or software is required on existing mobile and portable radio equipment. It’s a natural fit.
This radio location system supports multiple frequencies and protocols:
- Motorola™ SmartNet/SmartZone
- EDACS
- P25
SafePoint™ cannot be disabled (unlike GPS). It works by “listening” to the control channel of the radio network. Unless the radio is powered down or destroyed, SafePoint™ will continue to locate the radio.
GPS-based location systems rely on a GPS antenna. Whether placed inside the radio or on the vehicle, these can be disabled by covering the antenna, disconnecting the antenna and/or cutting the connectivity between the GPS module and the portable radio or car radio.
Anyone can disable the GPS aspect of a radio without turning the radio off — this cannot happen with SafePoint™.
Locate, manage and protect with SafePoint™.
SECURITY
Leveraging advanced technologies, SafePoint™ raises system security, resource management, response time improvement and emergency location capabilities to a whole new level, while protecting mission-critical resources. It locates security or law-enforcement personnel quickly and easily, so agencies can act swiftly when a situation arises.
SafePoint™ Radio Location System:
- Gathers and archives time and location data
- Identifies authorized and unauthorized users
- Locates cloned and stolen radios
- Identifies unit location
- Reduces terrorist opportunities to disrupt communications
- Identifies radio interferences
- Identifies failing radios for repair and maintenance via DiagnostX
- Safeguards personnel
Utilizing the existing agency’s radio system, SafePoint™ is designed to survive faults and attacks, and can be trusted with location-sensitive communications. Multiple agencies can simultaneously track and manage their security personnel.
This technology fosters information sharing, exchange and communication interoperability among individuals and agencies.
Benefits include:
- Incident Command System Management
- Augmenting mission critical resources
- Scene perimeter management
- Portability for disaster preparation
Locate, manage and protect with SafePoint™.
SAFEPOINT VS. GPS
SafePoint™ far exceeds the performance of the standard GPS system, since it is based on receiving radio signals. Trunked radio signals penetrate more easily through obstructions like overcast conditions, dense foliage, thick smoke, inside most buildings and cars, than GPS signals. SafePoint™ can also detect and locate transmissions without the addition of any hardware or software to the portable or mobile radio.
Because SafePoint™ utilizes the inbound control channel data from your active radios, it is able to create a location using only the milliseconds of a transmission from the radio. The location is calculated instantly and is immediately available to be displayed on all devices that are authorized to see the radio and its location.
SafePoint™ is a system solution that co-locates with your radio network infrastructure, and can track and locate all portable and mobile radios that are operating on your radio system. It does not require any additional radio resources or channels for data transport.
GPS location requires a line of sight to lock onto at least three geo-orbital satellites before it can calculate its position in latitude and longitude. GPS performance is hampered in cars with tinted windows, heavy smoke, atmospheric conditions (i.e. torrential rain, hail storms). If the radio is buried under a coat, or placed close to an ear, an unobstructed line of sight to the satellites is compromised.
For GPS to create locations accurately, the unit must be able to communicate with at least four satellites (not always possible). This typically takes at least 30 seconds to several minutes to get the first location.
Once the GPS has a location, it is only on that GPS device. It will still need to be displayed and stored on other devices, like the dispatcher’s terminal and/or other Mobile Data Computers. To accomplish this, it requires some manner of data or communications transport.
SafePoint™ is the solution. It is the only radio locating system created to protect the most valuable part of the public safety equation – its people.
The goal of Smart Policing is to improve performance through strategic management and efficient use of data and resources.
SafePoint™ makes Smart Policing…smarter. This cost-efficient radio location system monitors inbound control channel messaging from the radio to determine the Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) and to calculate the location as well as the Message Type, Radio ID and Talkgroup ID. It displays all security personnel by capturing the discrete RF signal from an officer’s portable radio, as well as the mobile unit’s radio, and displays them as separate icons (a car for the mobile unit, a handheld radio for the portable).
SafePoint™ also lets field patrol supervisors monitor patrol officers by tracking their whereabouts with the supervisor’s in-car laptop or MDC (Mobile Data Computer).
Unlike GPS, the SafePoint™ system is tamper-proof. It “listens” to the control channel of the radio network. When a radio is powered off, the system captures its location the instant it is shut down.
This radio location system also stores historical data — with a few strokes of the keyboard, incident reconstruction becomes effortless. Management can use this system to recreate and review historical location information.
SafePoint™ facilitates Smart Policing and supports accountability. With the TrackerX application, management can be confident of better:
- Personnel tracking to improve productivity
- Personnel tracking utilizing existing agency radio system
- Protection of the human assets in the public safety network
- Emergency preparedness for natural disasters and public events
In the event of a major catastrophe, this system displays all resources, not only police but all the assets of the city/county as well. SafePoint™ can track thousands of radios in operation, from police to fire and rescue to corrections, utility and transportation. Historical data and current location information are continually available. It’s Smart Policing and Emergency Management in one.
SafePoint™ technology and infrastructure basics:
SafePoint™ receivers, known as Advanced Digital Receivers™ (ADDIRs™), are installed on radio towers and other structures throughout the service area. ADDIRs™ listen for radio transmissions and send the information to the SafePoint™ CoreCAP™ central processor.
When a radio is turned on, it is detected by multiple receivers on the system. New location data is created with each two-way transmission, and additionally when the radio is switched to a different talk group.
Once a radio transmission is detected by at least three ADDIRs™, the CoreCAP™ analyzes the data utilizing Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) algorithms, and inserts a triangulated location solution into the SafePoint™ database. SafePoint™ TrackerX location information displays the solution as an icon on a map almost instantaneously.
Differentiated icons for each department — police, fire, utility, EMS, etc. — make it easy to see where assets are all the time.
SAFEPOINT RF TRIANGULATION TECHNOLOGIES
The TrackerX mapping software is the end-user graphical interface for tracking and displaying radio transmission locations captured by the SafePoint™ Radio Location System. As mobile and portable radios are located, data pertinent to each unit is displayed as a labeled icon on the TrackerX application and stored in a Microsoft SQL database. Individual radios and groups of radios can be queried and mapped. These expandable labels contain the following information:
- Officer ID/Radio Alias*
- Vehicle ID/Radio Alias*
- Time
- Date
- Radio Logical Identification (LID)
- Radio Group Identification (GID) if applicable
- Latitude
- Longitude
- SQI (Solution Quality Indicator)
*In instances where no alias is assigned, the alias and LID are the same.
Map display functions such as zoom, pan, print and highlight are incorporated tools to help isolate radio locations. Polling of specific radios can be initiated on the TrackerX.
TrackerX is available for both Communications Center Dispatcher and
Mobile Data Computer (MDC) applications.
The TrackerXTractor is the end-user graphical interface for extracting historical data from the SafePoint™ Radio Location System. As mobile and portable radios are located, data pertinent to each unit is stored in a Microsoft SQL database for later retrieval.
The information stored is as follows:
- Officer ID/Radio Alias*
- Vehicle ID/Radio Alias*
- Time
- Date
- Radio Logical Identification (LID)
- Radio Group Identification (GID) if applicable
- Latitude
- Longitude
- SQI (Solution Quality Indicator)
*In instances where no alias is assigned, the alias and LID are the same.
The TrackerXTractor application allows users to query the Microsoft SQL database to extract and map historical radio transmission data previously stored. The data is first displayed in a columned list format, which can be sorted and then plotted to the adjacent MapPoint™ screen. It can then be saved to a file or printed (in list or map format) for investigative reporting, training, and documentation purposes.
Map display functions such as zoom, pan, and highlight are incorporated tools to help isolate transmission points and display the type of reporting data required.
Locate, manage and protect with SafePoint™.
U.S. Patents: #8,565,096, #8,600,371, #8,825,042, #8,948,022, #9,282,482, #9,432,866, #9,681,321, #9,743,302,
#9,961,578, #10,200,902, #10,244,417, #10,609,585, #10,659,982 l Other Patents Pending