The evolution of devices such as mobile phones and tablets, has brought about greater acceptance and use of video as a means to communicate. Whether it is via web conferencing services or products like Skype or FaceTime, we have all become familiar with the notion of being able to see as well as speak with distant colleagues, friends and family members. So why not when making a 911 call?
- During a call for service the telecommunicator determines that video from the scene would aid the call handling process.
- Using ILM, the telecommunicator initiates the sending of a unique key to be sent via SMS or email to the caller. The key allows the caller to initiate a video stream that is automatically associated to their originating call.
- Transmission of the stream is established and background recording commences.
- The telecommunicator is able to view transmission and continue to speak to caller.
- While the transmission is active the telecommunicator can share secure links with other parties such as; responders, incident commanders or triage centers so they are able to view stream.
A recording of the transmission is available within a few minutes of the transmission session ending, enabling one-time use links to be shared by the telecommunicator's agency with appropriate parties as necessary.
Incident-Linked Multimedia (ILM) is a CACH extension that allows telecommunicators to establish a secure live video feed during calls for assistance. With the potential to support situations such as providing extended pre-arrival instructions, helping to establish the caller’s location or provide first sight of an incident scene before responders arrive; once an ILM stream has been established, the video feed can be quickly and securely shared with other parties such as responders, triage centers or incident commanders. Each transmission is automatically recorded and easily accessible for retrospective review or sharing.
ILM has been carefully designed to enable video streams to be initiated within a few seconds. Broadcasts are managed via cloud-services that are responsive to the capabilities of both the sending and receiving devices. To establish a video stream the telecommunicator sends a unique link to the caller’s mobile device via an SMS text or email message. This can occur at any stage during the call. Using the link, the caller is quickly able to establish a connection and begin streaming, at which time the telecommunicator is not only able to view the transmission but also generate secure links that may be shared with other appropriate parties such as responders, scene commanders or ER centers. While the stream is active, the caller may stop and start the transmission if necessary, each separate transmission segment is then automatically stitched together into a single recording for later playback.
ILM can be implemented almost as quickly as it takes to establish a video session with a caller! Once the CACH extension has been installed, no additional hardware or software is required. With ILM your agency will be able to seamlessly integrate incident related video as a tool to enhance the response to a range of operational scenarios.
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Contact us today for a demonstration of how ILM could help your agency