iPad a Public Safety Game Changer

PowerPhone CEO and self-proclaimed gadget geek, Chris Salafia, spent some alone time with his new iPad over the holiday weekend. He shares his initial thoughts with 9-1-1.com on the potential for this technology in the public safety sector.

It is no secret amongst my friends, family and colleagues that over the last couple years I have become a bit of an Apple zealot. In my house we count his and her iPhones, iPods of various shapes and sizes, an iMac for the family, a Mac Mini as a media hub, an AppleTV for the bedroom and a Mac Book Air that I love to travel with. In my opinion, the guys in Cupertino flat-out get it. Not only are their products intuitive and intelligent, they have done a masterful job of weaving their product line together into the Holy Grail of convergence. Apple products are fast becoming the portal for much of our digital lives.

A by-product of Apple’s success is the plethora of developers and accessory makers that have sprung up. To call it a cottage industry would be an understatement as there are literally hundreds if not thousands of developers, many of whom are small companies and even sole proprietors who are not just getting by, but getting rich, developing apps for the Apple platform. Forget dot com, this is gold rush time. Even yours truly has dabbled in developing for the iPhone, helping an old classmate at a boutique brokerage firm to develop an app for employees at publically traded companies to track their stock options.  Development costs were 1/10^th what it cost to develop on other platforms, and the exposure via the iTunes Store is worldwide with zero marketing expense. I am still utterly amazed at how quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively they went to market, and with a pretty darn good app too. If I can do it, you can too!

As I step off my soapbox, I’m sure you’ll find it of little surprise that I have been anxiously awaiting the release of the iPad, Apple’s foray into the tablet world. A world where many have tried, but no one has yet to get right. I’ll admit to some pre-launch skepticism, (do I need a giant iPod Touch?) so the fallback plan was to get one for the wife/kids, so they could surf the web, play games, watch movies, read books, etc. It seemed well suited for that at least.

The iPad is the real deal
Well, after about 30 minutes with one, we’re going to need to get another, because the aforementioned wife/kids don’t have a chance. The iPad is the real-deal. It doesn’t just do what the many walk-alongs on the Apple site demonstrate; it does them amazingly well. But that’s not the big deal. The big deal is, just like how the iPod and iPhone changed how we interacted with our music and our cell phones; the iPad just may change how many of us interact with our PC’s. With the iPad, input devices are now ancillary. Sure you can plug in a keyboard if you need to, but I don’t think you really need to and the mouse is non-existent.

To me, the best part of all this is the blank palette that Apple has created for third party developers. As a techno-consumer I am excited to see what new content this new platform will bring. The iPhone gave us a glimpse, but the screen real-estate was a hamstring. With the iPad will my kids learn to read faster? Play chess with a better teacher than me? Will we interact in real-time with our television? Will books explode into multimedia bonanzas? Will I learn to cook? My wife play the piano? Will long flights with the kids be more palatable? (thank you 10 hour battery!) The possibilities are limitless and exciting and none of them involve carpal tunnel or potential risks to your unborn children!

But if this is just another glowing review of a new Apple product why is this posted on 9-1-1.com? Because, as CEO of a public safety technology company, I strive to understand the needs of the public safety industry. Not just where we are today, but where we may be tomorrow. While this may just be my own personal Jerry Maguire moment, there is little doubt in my mind that this new technology can have a direct and sustainable impact on our industry.

Application in Public Safety
Without revealing too many trade secrets, PowerPhone has been seriously evaluating developing for the iPhone but as of yet has not gone to market for a myriad of reasons. Screen size, the challenge of multitasking voice and data, etc. But with the iPad, now I can have a voice conversation and a caller/bystander with access to a data enabled device that is intuitive to use. Can I push my 9-1-1 caller specific pre-arrival instructions? Images? Video? Can I send you a url to so you can self-serve your complaint? Heck, why don’t I just give sell you all my protocols and pre-arrival instructions? We always joke in our training classes that it would be so great if our callers had a set of protocols in front of them. Now they really can!

What about other potential uses in public safety? Since my father was a cop, let’s look at Law Enforcement first. Do we really need big, bulky laptops bolted into the cars? Would a hi-resolution touch screen with voice recognition be better/safer for our officers? What if I can detach that screen and bring it with me to interview my complainant? Would that improve my data entry? Would it speed report processing? I’ll be connected to my public safety network, so I’ll be able to upload information directly into my CAD/records system in nearly real-time. NCIC or other database look-ups on foot? No problem. I’ll also be able to get alerts and instant messages from dispatch away from my vehicle and/or when speaking could compromise me. Could that save my life? Quite possibly.

Can I shoot video or photos of a crime scene or incident? Not yet, but next generations iPads likely will include cameras. Record a conversation? Check. What about access to pre-incident plans and building maps? 10-4 and location based services apps will make access effortless. Did I mention the Maps app? I can drill down from satellite to street level with 2 fingers. Anytime, anywhere. What about all my departmental SOPs. Now they’re indexed, searchable and available to me at any time. No hablo ingles? No problemo! I have the world’s best language translator as a partner. And of course, when I’m 10-10 (off duty), I can study for my Sergeant’s exam, practice my high-speed driving and shoot/don’t shoots scenarios on my own personal simulator and maybe even catch-up on a game of Scrabble. No more Solitaire or Nintendo DS for me! So does the iPad have potential for law enforcement? I think so. The only better idea would be I need a way to carry it (and not break it!), so let’s see if someone can develop a bullet-proof case so I can velcro it to my chest!

What about my colleagues on the fire and EMS side? They of course benefit from all of the above, PLUS from the field I can now access all my agency specific databases and systems. Building inspections, maps, Haz Mat reference material, patient histories and emergency medication protocols are at my fingertips. I can now use Skype to video conference in Medical Control from the scene so they can see firsthand my patient’s condition. As an Incident Commander I can share scene conditions in real-time with other stakeholders and even access my Reverse911^® application to trigger an emergency alert. GPS functionality will speed my arrival on the scene as house numbers are super-imposed on my maps and after a flood or hurricane, I can even see images of what the site looked like before the disaster. As a first responder I am now empowered with the one thing that helps me do my job better – timely access to information!

Vendors must innovate
So where do we go from here? Just like the iPhone SDK leveled the playing field for small consumer app developers, I think the iPad will do the same in our industry. You don’t need a million dollar budget and a team of developers to build something meaningful. I think we are on the cusp of some amazing new innovation in public safety, and it is really about time. After nearly 20 years in this business, I have seen the industry evolve, but really without much true advancement. Sure, we’ve all made enhancements and extensions to our existing product lines and we’re all drinking the NG911 kool-aid as the next great thing, but what’s really next? My guess is that’s not going to be answered in the corporate boardrooms, but by some cop, firefighter or dispatcher who snaps her fingers and says “there really should be an app for that.”

About the Author
Chris Salafia is the President and CEO of PowerPhone. Actively involved in researching emerging technologies, he has visited control centers internationally to study the latest trends in emergency communications and holds three US patents in the field of emergency call handling. He can be reached via e-mail or followed on Twitter.

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