Arqiva joins forces with Imass to equip police with latest GIS emergency response technology

30th Sep 2008

• Arqiva provides enhanced mobile routing and navigation solution with GIS specialist Imass for UK police
• Ordnance Survey data provides detailed mapping of the UK landscape
• Enables UK police forces to respond in the fastest possible time

Arqiva announced today that it is working with Imass to enhance the Arqiva multi-bearer police mobile data solution to include routing and navigation facilities. The enhanced solution will help police forces across the UK respond to emergency call-outs in the fastest and most efficient way possible.

This added routing and navigation functionality will enhance the Imass mapping software, which is already a key component within Arqiva's police mobile data solution, by converting mapping data into a physical representation on screen. It is backed up with audio instructions, from the in-car mobile data terminal to guide officers to their destinations in the fastest possible time.

Recent reports, such as the Government Green Paper and Sir Ronnie Flanagan's policing review, have indicated that police forces require ongoing access to the latest technology. The routing and navigation features, which are already in use with one of the largest UK police forces, provide added functionality which will be crucial in changing the way officers access and use data on the job.

Incident response is a vital aspect of any police officer's role, with strict targets in place. Using Ordnance Survey OS MasterMap Integrated Transport Network (ITN) layer data, the advanced facilities are able to pinpoint and zoom-in on the precise incident location when received from Command & Control. It then uses the routing system to provide the quickest journey from the officer's current position using audio instructions and on-screen mapping on the in-car mobile data terminal.

The critical factor is the speed at which the vehicle position information updates on the screen. With police cars often travelling at high speed, route instructions and map details need to be refreshed to match. With the Imass solution this is dependent on the vehicle speed, so however fast the officer is travelling the data will update accordingly.

The Ordnance Survey data is regularly updated to maintain an image of the UK landscape which is as accurate as possible and is available through a national agreement with all police forces in the UK. Once the road network data has been converted by Imass, with support from Pitney Bowes MapInfo, Arqiva can use this to update information held on the in-car mobile data terminals. These updates can be carried out through downloads via a secure Wi-Fi connection when the vehicle is held at its base, which makes it simple to manage and maintain.

Peter Harris, Product Manager at Arqiva's Wireless Access division, said: "Imass has a strong history of providing Geographic Information Systems to the blue-light sector in the UK, and it is this experience that we are drawing on to develop the routing and navigation abilities on our police mobile data solution. The developments will enable officers to respond to incidents as quickly as possible and audio instructions and high-speed data updates make the process very simple. It is this type of benefit that officers have come to rely upon with mobile data and Arqiva is dedicated to ensuring that its solution encompasses the most advanced software on the market."

Paul Warner, Director of Strategic Alliances at Imass, added: "We have been working with the emergency services for many years so we know how critical mapping solutions are. The routing and navigation facilities we have developed for the Arqiva police mobile data solution will be critical in helping police forces respond to incidents as quickly and safely as possible. We have a long history of working with the Arqiva team and are very pleased to be working with them to develop this aspect of their mobile data solution."

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