New emergency call app: quickly located
The Police Concordat of Eastern Switzerland and the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud have developed the new emergency call app "retteMi" under the leadership of Eastern Switzerland. It offers the possibility of locating people in distress and thus providing them with rapid assistance, as the test phase has shown.
Around three million emergency calls are made in Switzerland every year. Two-thirds of these are made from cell phones - and the trend is increasing. When calls are made from a landline, the emergency call center can pinpoint the location of the person seeking help. In the case of cell phones, this was previously only possible to a limited extent, writes the cantonal police (Kapo) of St. Gallen. A new software solution consisting of two parts solves the problem:
- Emergency call app "saveMi.ch"(triggering of an emergency call from the cell phone or emergency call app of the person seeking help).
- Smartlocator (sending an SMS from the emergency call center to the person seeking help).
How does it work?
And this is how the application works: The emergency call center can send an SMS to the person seeking help. If the person confirms the link sent, the location is automatically transmitted to the dispatcher in the so-called Smartlocator (web solution) at the emergency call center. If the citizen has already installed the free emergency call app "retteMi.ch" on his smartphone in advance, he will be automatically connected to the responsible emergency call center when dialing the emergency numbers 112 (international emergency call), 117 (police), 118 (fire department) or 144 (ambulance) on the app and his current location will be transmitted. This saves the emergency services important time. After all, people in need of help who do not know where they are can be found quickly using the app's location function, as the Kapo writes.
Test confirms success
According to the Kapo, a test phase showed that several people could be located and rescued quickly. Three examples: Four teenagers had to be located in the mountains of Fribourg and were subsequently rescued by Rega. During the test phase, the cantonal police were able to quickly locate a motorcyclist who had been involved in an accident, but a glider pilot who was forced to make an emergency landing. And there is also this: a patient who had escaped from a psychiatric institution was quickly picked up by the blue-light organization.
Locating via various position sources
The new application of the Police Concordat of Eastern Switzerland and the Cantonal Police of Fribourg and Vaud enables the location of the caller via a combination of various position sources (GPS, GMS location, WLAN networks). The prerequisite for positioning is, of course, the reception and functionality of the smartphone. The app is also available in the app store for Windows and Android devices.
