NEW YORK—RapidSOS, the intelligent safety company, has announced Alarm Call Automation, a new solution to address the growing volume of sensor-initiated alarm calls into 911.
The company explains that its Alarm Call Automation plugs into an agency’s existing protocols and 10-digit non-emergency line to assist 911 with sensor-initiated alarm calls. Powered by RapidSOS HARMONY AI, Alarm Call Automation gathers key response information, helps verify the alarm, and automatically populates the incident into CAD or RapidSOS UNITE in real-time.
“We hear from our public safety partners that the proliferation of smart devices and sensors is leading to a growing number of alarms coming into the system, compounding staffing shortages in 911 centers,” says Karin Marquez, chief public safety brand officer at RapidSOS. “In partnership with public safety, we created Alarm Call Automation to help 911 focus their incredible skill and professionalism on the real emergencies impacting their communities.”
Alarm Call Automation Utilizes AI Technologies to Help Call Centers to Run More Efficiently
According to RapidSOS, Frost & Sullivan predicts that by 2027, more than half of all 911 calls will be triggered by a connected device, sensor, or app. Many of these are personal safety products in people’s homes or businesses the company notes. RapidSOS asserts the growing number of devices will impact the number of calls coming into 911, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, noted that more than 98 percent of alarm calls in the United States are false. RapidSOS’ Alarm Call Automation supports the processing of alarm calls so telecommunicators can focus on other emergencies and quickly address alarms as required.
Alarm Call Automation joins the company’s suite of AI solutions powered by RapidSOS HARMONY, which the company says is an AI copilot built with public safety to support the work of 911 in rapidly assessing and responding to hundreds of millions of emergencies annually.
Today, the company continues, there are several emergency communication centers (ECCs) throughout the country that are actively using the Alarm Call Automation Module as part of RapidSOS’ Safety Pioneer Program.
“Alarm Call Automation has been a great solution for our day-to-day operations,” comments Justin Crowther, executive director at Jefferson County 911 Center. “RapidSOS is taking one piece of our call-taking process and automating it so that is one less call that a call taker must process. It relieves the stress of ringing phone lines and eases the workflow for 911 staff. This solution just makes sense.”
In an emergency RapidSOS states that it intelligently fuses millions of sensor feeds into one unified picture of an incident, allowing public safety officials to view real-time location, health profile, telematics, alarm data, hazmat, multimedia feeds, and more. Over 21,000 public safety agencies process over 170 million emergencies with RapidSOS annually.
RapidSOS emphasizes that pairing Alarm Call Automation with its digital alerts helps save time in critical moments. A fail safe process is also in place to help escalate an alarm call to a telecommunicator if any issues occur.
The company’s new AI-based solution can be added into RapidSOS UNITE and plugged into RapidSOS’ network of 4,600 public safety software integrations. The Alarm Call Automation module can be configured to support each agency’s protocols that include:
- Alarm call comes into 10-digit, non-emergency line at the 911 center
- The Alarm Call Automation Module (RapidSOS HARMONY) answers the alarm call, asking relevant questions as determined by the ECC to gather key information and help verify the incident
- Where applicable, HARMONY fuses verbal interrogation with relevant sensor feeds to provide the most comprehensive picture of the incident possible
- HARMONY consolidates that data into a digital alert populated in CAD and/or RapidSOS UNITE and updates it in real-time as the call progresses
