Just days before thousands of emergency communication professionals gather for the National Emergency Number Association 2010 conference, Ford announced new capability for the SYNC 911 Assist™ application. The system can now communicate a vehicle’s exact location using GPS coordinates provided to emergency responders.
The nonsubscription-based app remains available to customers at no additional cost; providing emergency operators access to GPS coordinates of a vehicle, another important tool that could help first responders reach the scene of an accident faster.
“Ford is committed to continuously enhancing the owner experience, and SYNC is a key part of that strategy,” said Doug VanDagens, Director of Ford Connected Services. “SYNC 911 Assist is free for the life of the vehicle, and now we’re making it perform even better. That adds unexpected value and peace of mind for the customer.”
Available with certain 2011 model year vehicles, the GPS coordinates are generated by the vehicle’s onboard GPS receiver for maximum accuracy.
“SYNC 911 Assist calls already come in on priority emergency lines, due to the call being placed from the customer’s personal cell phone versus an intermediary call center,” said Dave Hatton, global product leader/electrical engineer with Ford Connected Services. “Currently, 911 Assist is designed to provide location information to emergency service providers through assisted GPS or signal triangulation – the same system providers rely on when dispatching help to mobile phone user emergency calls.
Unlike competitive offerings that require customers to subscribe and pay a monthly fee for such accident assistance, Ford 911 Assist remains a nonsubscription-based, no-cost feature of the SYNC system that uses a customer’s existing mobile phone. The fee-free service is available in both the U.S. and Canada.
When the feature is turned on and a phone is Bluetooth-paired to SYNC, 911 Assist can make a call directly to a local emergency operator in the event of an accident involving the activation of an airbag or emergency fuel pump shutoff. With the GPS capabilities, the system is designed to not only alert the operator that a crash has occurred in a Ford vehicle, but to give the operator the option to retrieve the vehicle’s GPS coordinates. The call is fast, direct, and doesn’t involve a separate call center or intermediary.
“Integrated GPS is a logical next step for 911 Assist, leveraging the GPS hardware that is now included with SYNC,” said Gary Jablonski, manager for the Ford Infotainment Product Development Team. “That’s the beauty of the SYNC platform – it can quickly adapt to and accommodate new technologies, features and services that provide great value to customers without great additional costs.”
Vehicles featuring the new MyFord or MyLincoln Touch™ driver connect technology will also have the updated 911 Assist GPS capabilities, and offer customers a number of other emergency service options. A priority emergency screen, for example, will contain location information and quick-touch access to In Case of Emergency (ICE) contacts at the completion of a 911 Assist call
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment