To help
improve public safety response times and outcomes, the City of Cambridge today
announced a new collaboration with RapidSOS, an advanced emergency technology
start-up formed at M.I.T. and Harvard. Cambridge is the first city in
Massachusetts and one of the first in the country to collaborate with RapidSOS
to provide residents improved access to 9-1-1 and emergency services, as well
as other features that will improve mobile security and family
connectivity.
The RapidSOS
Haven application connects a wireless caller with the correct local dispatch
center anywhere in the contiguous U.S., while providing a variety of enhanced data to
9-1-1:
- Voice and text messages (Haven speaks the text message to the dispatcher)
- GPS location
- Type of emergency
- Relevant medical and demographic data
RapidSOS was
formed after its founding team experienced personal challenges with the dated
infrastructure behind 9-1-1. An estimated 180 million[1] mobile 9-1-1 calls are made
every year in the U.S. and most cannot be precisely located. The FCC estimates
that 10,120 lives[2]
are lost each year when callers can't be located. Over the last three years,
engineers at RapidSOS developed the Haven technology in close collaboration
with Cambridge Emergency Communications Department.
As part of
the collaboration, Cambridge residents will have free access to the RapidSOS
Haven app for 10 years, if they sign up for the app by June 27, 2018 at www.rapidsos.com/referrals/cambridgema.
“RapidSOS
will provide us with enhanced location and caller information, which can be
immensely valuable in emergencies,” said Christina Giacobbe, Director of
Emergency Communications and 9-1-1 in the City of Cambridge. “RapidSOS also
routes alerts directly into our system, rather than to the Massachusetts State
Police (where mobile calls in Cambridge are routed today). As a result,
RapidSOS can help us improve response times and outcomes.”
“Cambridge
holds a very special place in our hearts and in the history of our company,”
said RapidSOS co-founder and CEO Michael Martin, a Harvard alumnus. “Cambridge
is where we founded RapidSOS, spent the first two years developing our advanced
emergency communication technology, and where we received an outpouring of
expertise and support, including our first visit to a 9-1-1 dispatch center.
This launch marks a transformation in access to emergency services not just in
Cambridge or Massachusetts, but globally.”
The Haven
app also includes access to RapidSOS Family Connect feature. For the first
time, people can call 9-1-1 on behalf of a loved one, transmitting their loved
one’s location and relevant data directly to the dispatch center closest to
them. Additionally, Family Connect allows users to share their location with
loved ones, see family members’ real-time locations without the distraction of
a phone call or text, and easily and discreetly ask family and friends for
help.
“We are
extremely excited about this partnership,” said RapidSOS co-founder and CTO
Nick Horelik, who received his PhD in Nuclear Engineering from M.I.T. “We know
that Haven will have a direct positive impact on the safety and security of
Cambridge residents.” Nick first experienced the challenges of locating
individuals in emergencies while staffing the suicide prevention hotline at
Tufts University during college.
RapidSOS
will also team up with Cambridge and participate in public safety education and
outreach, including distributing information on emergency preparedness, tips to
keep families and communities safe, and details on how Haven can help.
“So many
individuals rely on cell phones rather than landlines. With this evolution, it
is important for us to receive location as quickly as we would from a landline,
and this technology makes that possible,” said Chief Gerald R. Reardon of the
Cambridge Fire Department.
“Having more
precise information such as the type of emergency and GPS location dispatched
to our officers will only assist in expediting our emergency response and
create broader situational awareness,” said Commissioner Christopher J. Burke
of the Cambridge Police Department.
RapidSOS is
offering Haven free to those who live in Cambridge for a 10-year period, if
they sign up for the app by June 27, 2018 at www.rapidsos.com/referrals/cambridgema. The Haven app is available for
iPhone and Android devices and works anywhere across the contiguous U.S. and
Hawaii, with one touch emergency calling in over 250 countries and
jurisdictional territories. For more information about RapidSOS and the Haven
app, visit www.rapidsos.com.
About RapidSOS
RapidSOS was
formed in 2012 by a team of M.I.T., Harvard, and Stanford grad students who had
personal experiences with the challenges of the existing emergency
communication infrastructure. Working closely with the 9-1-1 community, tech
and telecom companies, and leading investors, RapidSOS is developing technology
to predict and preempt emergencies before they occur, dynamically warn people
in harm’s way, and ensure that first responders are one touch away globally.
Learn more at www.RapidSOS.com.