Situm’s geopositioning system has been elected as a technological base for the development of You Safe, DB System’s mobile app. In this case, our indoor location technology turns into the heart of an app designed for users to receive on their mobile phones all the information they need to evacuate a building in case of an emergency drill or an actual emergency.
If you’re in a large and unknown indoor space like a shopping mall and a natural disaster or emergency situation ensues, the first thing you’d do is find the fastest and most effective way to get out of there, no doubt. But do you think this would be an easy task? Would you look for security personnel to get indications on where to go? Would you try to guide yourself by following traditional signs or site plans? How long would it take you? A Colombian tech company, DB System has worked hard on this issue and has released its mobile app You Safe to the market. This app allows every user to have all information on their smartphone (maps, alerts) so that they can be more autonomous during dangerous situations.
For this development, DB System has integrated Situm’s indoor positioning technology. Our system works like an indoor GPS and allows users to locate themselves in an unknown space (shopping malls, hospitals, airports) and move more independently. It barely uses dedicated infrastructure to be implemented because Situm takes advantage of pre-installed signals in the building (WiFi and Bluetooth) which allows for very fast deployment. This way, once deployed, the real-time positioning system provides high precision and automatic floor detection to guarantee full space coverage.
All these features are vital for the development of You Safe because their application is designed to provide its users with all the necessary information to be able to get out of a large building in the event of a contingency. This improves the evacuation of a large number of people in the shortest possible time during dangerous situations. This proves to be a very useful tool in the face of an event such as an earthquake, a type of natural disaster quite common in Colombia, a country which has endured a
long list of seisms.
Emergency information in the palm of each visitor’s hand…
It seems obvious that when it is necessary to empty a large building or interior space in an orderly, efficient and fast way, having a tool like You Safe can be quite advantageous for the users:
- The fact that visitors use their mobile phones, a system with which they’re completely familiarized, to receive all information regarding a contingency or emergency drill is an important advantage in those tense situations.
- This experience demonstrates that the interpretation of graphic signage or location plans is not adequate during these situations because nerves could get in the way of effective interpretation.
- The information received is clear and concrete (guidance to meeting points, shortest routes between two points, etc.) which allows the user to remain calm and therefore be more efficient during the evacuation.
- Users receive alerts and notifications regarding any changes or alterations that occur on the go.
- Security personnel and staff responsible for the evacuation can concentrate on the more technical aspects of it because the users will be informed of the steps to follow from the first moment.
… and strategic information on the Dashboard regarding the management team’s operations
You Safe is a user-oriented application but it has a very positive impact on the management of catastrophic events by security officers:
- All information is collected on a control panel in the form of heatmaps or graphics. This allows knowing, in real-time, vital information such as the number of users on the premises and which are the routes that they use the most, which could help prevent possible bottlenecks or other congestion problems.
- Makes tasks easier by locating and guiding users to safe exits while avoiding others that could be potentially dangerous.
- Allows immediate detection and notification of places in which a contingency or unforeseen event occurs (infrastructural or personal damage)
- Allows the redistribution of personnel based on dynamics or alerts those which are closer to an incident in order to reduce response times. This is possible thanks to the fact that Situm’s technology works in the background, that is, transfers user’s location information even if they are not actively using their phones.
The system generates subsequent analytics that allow to evaluate how an incident has been dealt with, how much time has been invested in it, what routes have worked best and which should be revised. - These activity reports, in addition to polishing possible problems in the dynamics, allow to keep a clear record of the entire deployment, which can help clarify responsibilities toward third parties.
If you’re interested in getting more information about Situm’s indoor guiding technology or about DB System’s You Safe, don’t hesitate to contact us.