New Apps Enhance Public Safety

New Apps Enhance Public Safety

FirstNet

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Five public safety apps have been added by FirstNet (First Responders Network Authority) to its public communications platform.

FirstNet is an independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce, whose goal is to deploy, operate, maintain, and improve the first high-speed, nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety and used by first responders. The platform was built with AT&T.

The FirstNet App Catalog is where FirstNet users can go to get innovative solutions tailored to them. Among those, the latest addition of public safety solutions include the following:

  1. Explorer for ArcGIS – a lightweight mapping app and data viewer developed by Esri company, that allows first responders to create, markup and interact with their maps, even offline.
  2. Intrepid Response – a situational awareness solution that provides near real-time location data on a feature-rich map, and rapid media sharing among team members, all in one tool.
  3. NetMotion – a purpose-built, mobile VPN and QoS solution that helps to optimize and secure application traffic.
  4. PulsePoint – in a cardiac emergency, time is everything. This app helps first responders save lives by crowdsourcing immediate care through CPR-trained citizens, allowing them to view alerts about nearby cardiac emergencies.
  5. SceneDoc – a mobile-first platform for digital evidence management and data collection to assist investigators in the field.

To help first responders get the most out of mobile apps, bundles are in the works to be available via the FirstNet App Catalog. These bundles will pair complementary apps together.

For example, a bundle could include Esri Explorer for ArcGIS and Push-to-Talk or Intrepid Response and Push-to-Talk. These bundles give first responders more situational awareness with a common operating picture of the incident without the needing to figure out what apps to use together, as reported in officer.com.