Can Sharing Home Security Data Reduce 911 Response Times? SimpliSafe and RapidSOS think so

There is no recorded national average for emergency service response times, but most cities report they are between five and 10 minutes. It sounds quick – and it is – but even a minute or two can be the difference between life and death in some emergency situations.

In New Partnership, DIY Home Security Company SimpliSafe and emergency response data platform RapidSOS aim to chisel out those precious minutes. Using the RapidSOS data sharing device, SimpliSafe will deliver specific information – derived from their home security systems and sensors, as well as their user profiles – to 911 responders, sometimes even before a call is made. emergency is carried out.

The goal is more ambitious than simply reducing response times, however, according to Christian Cerda, CEO of SimpliSafe.

“The traditional monitoring center of home security companies… is ripe for innovation and reinvention,” he told me Wednesday, before the announcement. He envisions a near future where this type of data sharing will become the industry standard, making the entire rapid response ecosystem more efficient.

With more than 2,000 emergency call centers across the country already online, using data from SimpliSafe, these two companies are together taking the first step towards that future.

A service “ripe for innovation”

Anyone who has researched or purchased home security systems is well aware of the myriad selling points that various companies use to differentiate themselves from opposing brands. Are they tinkered with or installed by professionals? Do video doorbells have parcel detection? Can door sensors trigger smart lights?

Increasingly, home security systems are spinning multiple plates at once: they alert customers and authorities to a break-in, but also check for gas and water leaks, offer two-way conversation via security cameras and offer all kinds of options for the home. automation – in fact, smart home devices are arguably the biggest evolution the home security market has seen in decades.

That could change if Cerda’s goals come to fruition.

RapidSOS has been around for about eight years, but it has seen its most explosive growth since 2018 when it started shipping with Apple and Android phones. In a world where phones are detached from the old counter cradles of yesteryear, where a phone with any area code can be found anywhere in the country, emergency services are finding it increasingly difficult to locate users.

When I spoke to RapidSOS CEO Michael Martin, he held up an hourglass to illustrate the problem. One end of the hourglass, he said, represented all the connected technologies we come across in the world – wearable devices, phones, cars, etc. – and the other represents the computerized systems that emergency services can use to reach people in need.

“In between,” said Martin, “there’s an analog copper phone line. And it’s that bottleneck that’s a huge challenge in getting the fastest and most efficient response possible.”

RapidSOS has attempted to widen this bottleneck by providing data, such as the precise location of the user, to emergency responders – and in fact, the company now works with some 4,900 response centers. emergency, which covers approximately 94% of the population of the United States.

However, the new partnership does not just bring the data delivery device from RapidSOS to SimpliSafe. The security company helps to expand the type data that RapidSOS can share when communicating with 911 centers. This means that operators could not only receive the names and addresses of SimpliSafe customers, but also more specific data about the sensors that triggered the alarm, and can -be even extracts of footage from security cameras relating to the emergency call.

Better, faster, stronger

So early in the partnership, it’s hard to measure exactly how well RapidSOS will provide emergency responses to SimpliSafe alarms – but there’s reason to believe the improvements will be significant.

“We will be doing a variety of analyzes and we will have a robust data set on it,” Martin said. “[But anecdotally,] we heard from one of our 911 agencies that she was receiving [SimpliSafe customer] information up to 2 or 3 minutes before the arrival of the phone call. “

Martin said the time saved is exceptionally high, but shows the high-end potential of the technology.

The second way RapidSOS technology widens the communication bottleneck is to speed up the processing of caller information. Traditionally, location and other information has to be communicated to operators as part of a verbal, question-and-answer triage process, which can lead to transcription issues (think: a misspelled street name) or simply delay understanding and action on the information provided.

I spoke to Michelle Potts, communications manager with the Chandler, Arizona Police Department, who has worked at the 911 call center for 25 years. Chandler PD has been piloting the SimpliSafe-RapidSOS integration for approximately six weeks.

“Where I think it’s going [save time]”said Potts,” is in this process of triage calls … What we have seen is that when the information arrives, we will issue that call to [emergency] a service.”

All of this can happen even before the 911 call arrives. Once done, Potts said, operators only need to verify the information they have already received in the initial report and already passed on to first responders.

Finally, Martin and Potts both discussed the time saving effects of service integration.

“In a 911 center,” said Potts “[operators] often have five, six, seven different computer screens in front of them. “

Each of these monitors gives different information, which the operator must then synthesize and transmit to first responders. Putting data from different sources on one screen, Potts told me, is extremely valuable in such a context.

Sound the alarm for the future

RapidSOS does not have a history of brand exclusivity. In fact, he signed his massive deals with Apple and Google within months of each other. And this partnership is probably no different.

“Our vision is that each device should work together in harmony to save your life when you need it most,” said Martin. This vision is not limited to particular industries or brands; it’s about reshaping the infrastructure.

Cerda didn’t seem bothered by the idea that other security systems might follow SimpliSafe’s lead – or even partner with RapidSOS.

“[I] Expect SimpliSafe to be the first in a long series, ”he said. “When we think about the impact on society and how effective rapid response systems are, it will work best when it becomes the norm… Sure, we’ll lead in that direction, but over time we’ll lose that differentiation. “

The partnership with RapidSOS may only be a temporary head start, and SimpliSafe looks set to capitalize on it while it can. Cerda and Martin both spoke at length about the possibilities for subsequent integrations, software improvements, and optimizing the data sharing process over time.

“The technology is constantly changing,” Cerda said. “You can never rely on your advantage today to maintain your differentiation tomorrow. You just need to be a step or two ahead of your competition. “