Advances in Location Accuracy John Snapp

Reinhard Ekl

Roger Hixson

Introduction

This session will serve to outline progress to

date and upcoming efforts on the topic of

location accuracy

Call Routing

• One of the challenges of efforts to improve location accuracy has been a greater concern over caller location than routing the caller to the appropriate PSAP

• Efforts are underway in this area

• Key elements include adding boundaries to PSAP registries (including NENAs)

The FCC related effort

• Work is picking up speed on the response to the FCCs 4th Report and Order

• Key Component: NEAD

• Key Component: the demo/test phase

• Key Target dates are upcoming

Others are working too

• West Safety Services Efforts

West Safety Services © 2017. – Confidential and Proprietary - All rights reserved.

December 13, 2017

West Safety Services

Handset Initiated Location

Device Based Location

• Handset is the first element to know a 9-1-1 call is being placed

• Handset knows what call / transport technology is being used

• Handset vendors continue to improve Device Based Hybrid Location

Technologies

• Handsets often have historical / predictive data on location of handset

• Handsets know about all the sensors they currently have

• Each handset has uniqueness

Location Value Timeline

9-1

-1 D

iale

d

Cal

l Ro

ute

d

Cal

l An

swer

ed

Cal

l Dis

pat

ched

MEDIUM ACCURACY What PSAP is call in

- WiFi or GPS

HIGH ACCURACY Where is the call -WiFI or GPS X/Y

Dispatchable Location

HIGH ACCURACY Where is the call -WiFI or GPS X/Y

Dispatchable Location

LaaSer Advanced 9-1-1

• Integrated by major Android OEM into current handsets

• Intelligent operations to minimize location latency

• Sufficient Location typically available in time to route call

• Phase 2 level location typically available when PSAP receives call

• Provides better telemetry data for more accurate NEAD usage

• Provides everything LPP/LPPe provides and more (WiFi security, public IP,

etc)

• Can work on many 9-1-1 call types (GSM,UMTS, VoLTE, VoWiFi, Text (near

future)

UE Loc

Data

LaaSer Config

Manager

LaaSer PDE

GMLC

Voice Call

Get Device Specific Config

Location Request

Location Report (Location data)

Phone Boot

Opening dialer begins

sequence. 9-1-1 +

send transmits

data

EMERGENCY CALL

Location Response

Location Report (Updated location data

LaaSer Advanced 9-1-1 Message Flow

Additional Location Calculation

PSAP MSC

Routing Resp

Routing Req

Voice Call

Associated Address

• Use multiple data sources to find nearby addresses associated with 9-1-1

caller mobile number:

• Public Data = LexisNexis

• Carrier Billing Record

• Previous 9-1-1 call records

• Other data sources

• Geo-fence the 9-1-1 reported location and determine if any of the associated

addresses fall within the geo-fenced area.

• Only provide address that fall with the geo-fenced area and are associated

with the mobile number.

Associated Address

• Mobile number 425-405-4444

• Address 1: 19203 59th Drive NE, Arlington, WA

• Address 2: 1302 Hoyt Ave, Everett WA

• Address 3: 5317 113th PL NE, Marrysville WA

Address: 5317 113th PL NE, Marrysville WA

Small Proof of Concept

Snohomish County, WA

• Post processed actual 9-1-1 calls

• Used location data of 9-1-1 call

• Compared to 9-1-1 caller provided address (voice) or CAD dispatched to

address.

• Compared to reverse geocoded address

• Used only a small set of public data

Snohomish County, WA 9-1-1 call.

Uncertainty : 45m CAD geocoded address: 2826 152nd PL NW

Uncertainty : 45m CAD geocoded address: 2826 152nd PL NW

Snohomish County, WA 9-1-1 call.

Snohomish County, WA 9-1-1 call.

Uncertainty : 45m TN:425-210-xxxx CAD geocoded address: 2826 152nd PL NW

Snohomish County, WA 9-1-1 call.

Uncertainty : 45m TN:425-210-xxxx CAD geocoded address: 2826 152nd PL NW Associated Address 2818 152nd PL NW

Snohomish County, WA 9-1-1 call.

Uncertainty : 45m TN:425-210-xxxx CAD geocoded address: 2826 152nd PL NW Associated Address 2818 152nd PL NW Caller Reported Address 2818 152nd PL NW

Snohomish County, WA 9-1-1 call.

Results

• All Addresses Match – Provides positive confirmation of address

• Associated Address matches

• Reverse-Geocoded Address Matches

• Dispatched to Address Matches

• Associated Address Matches

• Associated Address matches

• Reverse-Geocoded Address was nearby address

• Dispatched to Address Matches

• Dispatched to address was different than caller location

The NG911 Clearinghouse

• Civic address of cell tower

Phase 1

It’s 2018. Why Are We Still Talking About Location?

• Latitude, Longitude, Uncertainty, Confidence

• “Either / or” solution

• Sometimes cell tower triangulation

• Sometimes: aGPS, only outdoors

Phase 2

• Civic address with indoor location information of closest WiFi Access point

• Building owner / manager expected to voluntarily enter indoor information manually into a database

• Who will enter, validate, maintain, update the data?

• How is it going to display in your map? Have you thought through indoor address validation end to end?

National Emergency Address Database

Confidential

or

Let’s not reinvent the wheel. How do commercial location services work?

Device-based hybrid location: Combine ALL sensors!

1. More accurate 2. Faster 3. Update

automatically

Cell Tower Triangulation: Reliable, but not very accurate

GPS: Highly accurate and reliable outdoors

WiFi Access Points: Highly accurate indoors, and it’s getting better and better

Bluetooth Beacons: Potentially highly accurate indoors (Let’s see)

Barometric Pressure: Altitude reading (z-axis)

Pedestrian Dead Reckoning: Accelerometers, step counters, ..

Google has already installed it on 99% of Android devices in the US (100M+)

Successfully deployed in other countries (UK, Estonia, New Zealand, etc.)

Native 9-1-1 call (app not required to initiate call)

Apps, either direct to consumer or through distribution partners (Insurance, Universities, Non-Profits, Municipalities)

Tackles additional issues (call routing, texting, multimedia, additional data, intelligent connection management,..)

Android ELS (Emergency Location Service)

Smartphone Apps Beacon Service

RapidSOS Offering to Device Manufacturers and App providers

Transmits not just location, also has access to additional data

Native 9-1-1 call (app not required to initiate call)

So how do you get hybrid location from smartphones into 9-1-1?

Clearinghouse in NG911 Steady State

9-1-1 Call

Wireless Carrier

PSAP

BCF Border Control Function

I3 SIP Calls

…

PSAP

Data

State / Regional ESInet

…

LIS Location Information Server

RapidSOS Access ESInet

ECRF/ESRP Call Routing Function/Proxy

Fully integrated as NG911 core service - all PSAPs inside ESInet served through secured ESInet

interconnection

PSAP

Clearinghouse

ADR Additional Data Repository

Clearinghouse gives you supplemental data in addition to ALI – not a replacement!

PSAPs Receive NG911 Clearinghouse Data For Free, Fully Integrated Into CPE & CAD

9-1-1

Call

Wireless Carrier

Selective Router

Voice

PSAP

Voice

GMLC /

MPC ALI Database

“Control plane” location Basic location ALI query

Cell tower/

location

estimate

Request using Callback Number

(HELD)

Response: Enhanced Location &

More (PIDF-LO)

PSAP

Integration

Android ELS /

Beacon

NG911 Clearinghouse

Device location

Vendor-Agnostic Solution – PSAPs Can Integrate For Free Into Their Existing Solution

https://rapidsos.com/psapintegration/#partners

(see website for Press Releases)

Confidential

Example: Network Location & Carrier Location

Tennessee Clearinghouse Project: Collaborative Effort with State Board

Confidential

Curtis Sutton Executive Director, Tennessee Emergency Communications Board

“Tennessee is proud to work with RapidSOS to test its device based

location technology. Accurate location is essential in today’s wireless

world and device based location is a giant step forward in 9-1-1. This

technology has the potential to expedite emergency responses and

save lives without placing an undue financial burden on PSAPs. We

appreciate the opportunity to partner with RapidSOS and look forward

to expanding our test across Tennessee.”

info.rapidsos.com/blog/tennessee-pilot-project

Test Results Show Difference Between Carriers & RapidSOS

Confidential

Iowa Pilot Project: First Test Call in Cedar County, Iowa

Confidential info.rapidsos.com/blog/rapidsos-motorola-solutions-location-testing

`

Thank you for your attention!

Confidential

Contact me at:

rekl@rapidsos.com

www.RapidSOS.com

What Can/Should we do?

As we observe and experience these many solutions to challenges related to location-– what steps can or should we take now and in the future to ensure the best possible outcome?

Documents? Training? Information?

Closing Summary

• Efforts Continue on multiple fronts regarding improving 9-1-1 location services

• There is likely no “silver bullet” for all of these issues to be solved

• We will still have to collaborate, innovate, and communicate as various efforts develop and go into deployment.

Join a NENA WG

http://www.nena.org/?page=DevelopmentGroup

• Select committee name to see a list of active WGs and a link to join the WG