Spring / Printemps 2017 15 [16]R. Felts, M. Leh and T. McElvaney, “Public Safety Analytics R&D Roadmap,” National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - US Department of Commerce, Gaithersburg, MD, US, Apr 2016. [17]J. Pagotto, G. Scribano, R. Cayouette, S. Braham, J. Gurnick, C. Auger, E. Lafond, J. Fournier, T. Doumi, C. Lucente, M. Dixon and L. Samson, “Public Safety Broadband Network Architecture Description,” Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) - Department of National Defence, Ottawa, ON, Canada, Aug 2013. [18]D. G. Holmberg, W. D. Davis, S. J. Treado andK.A.Reed,“BuildingTacticalInformation System for Public Safety Officials,” National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) - US Department of Commerce, Gaithersburg, MD, USA, Jan 2006. “Workshop to Define Information Needed by Emergency Responders during Building Emergencies,” National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - US Department of Commerce, Gaithersburg, MD, USA, Jan 2005. [14]D. G. Holmberg, M. A. Raymond and J. Averill, “Delivering Building Intelligence to First Responders,” National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - US Department of Commerce, Gaithersburg, MD, US, Feb 2013. [15]R. Felts, M. Leh, D. Orr and T. A. McElvaney, “Location-Based Services R&D Roadmap,” National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - US Department of Commerce, Gaithersburg, MD, US, May 2015. in a format that’s digestible,” says Pappone. That means all forms of information, includ- ing audio and video. Thanks to Hollywood movies, the public already believes emer- gency response personnel can do this stuff, he says. “People think they can send video clips and images to 911, and that’s certainly not the case,” he says. There’s also a danger of overwhelming the system; a single traffic accident on a major highway in Toronto can result in 200 calls to 911. “The technology only gets you part way; we need to have staff in place and fil- tering mechanisms. Artificial intelligence is going to have to kick in.” The Toronto Police Service is also modern- izing its IT infrastructure, rolling out mobile technology that allows them to access data, collect evidence and file reports on smart phones and tablets. TPS is in the pilot phase of moving to mobile, which it hopes to fully roll out in the next two to three years. In a report released in January, the TPS’s Transformational Task Force says vehicles are a physical barrier that create a sense of isolation from residents. It also says in some cases officers file paperwork and respond to emails at divisional stations, preventing them from patrolling commun- ities. Both issues could be resolved through the use of mobile technology. “In the next three years, we’re going to be undergoing a modernization process, and among those goals is leveraging technol- ogy to ensure we’re being efficient and effective in our policing efforts,” says Sergeant John Apostolidis, a member of the TPS’s task force implementation team.“ This is where that mobile platform will further enable us.” Of course, mobile technology is only as good as the content that’s on it. Some police forces are experimenting with mobile appli- cations; the Prince Albert Police Service in Saskatchewan, for example, is piloting a Building Tactical Information System (BTIS) developed by Ottawa-based firm APX, which can provide officers with information on buildings they enter in response to emer- gency calls, equipping them with everything from floor plans to satellite photos. The Toronto Emergency Safe School System (TESS) and Toronto Operational Response Information System (TORIS) allow TPS to access information such as floor plans, emergency contacts, fire plans and evacuation strategies in buildings ran- ging from schools to small businesses to big towers in the downtown core. This information allows TPS to appropriately develop an emergency response if needed. Once officers are equipped with mobile technology, they’ll have access to this type of information at their fingertips. It will also allow for “proactive action,” where they can access data for situa- tional awareness and crime prevention. And they can collect evidence and state- ments (including audio and video) directly from their mobile device. “There’s a completely different reaction from the public when you’re outside of a vehicle,” says Apostolidis. “I rode a bicycle quite a bit; having that direct contact cer- tainly made my role more approachable. We’re extending that with now being able to be reached through a mobile device.” As with Toronto Fire Services, it’s all about providing the right information, to the right person, at the right time. “We’re looking at how we can garner efficiencies,” says Pappone, “so it’s not only giving them the information they need to respond but also providing full sets of data to create greater efficiencies overall.” ■ U U U U U U Up p p p p p pc c co o om m m mi i i in n n ng g g g g I IE E EE E EE E M M Mo ob b bi i il l le e e C C C C C C C C C Co o o o o o om m m m m m m m mm m m m m m m m m mu u u u u u u un n n n n ni i i i i ic c c ca a at t ti i i io o o on n n ns s s E E Ev ve e en nt ts s s AlaAbuAlkheir is a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Elec- trical Engineer- ing and Com- puter Science at the University of Ottawa since 2013. He earned a PhD from Queen’s University in 2013. In 2016, he worked with Advance Property eXposure (APX) Inc. on developing operational require- ments for their software solu- tions. Ala’s research expertise spans the areas of smart mobile technology for first responders, spectrum sharing networks, wireless sensor networks, con- nected and autonomous vehicles, and 5G systems. He is currently working on using Bluetooth technology to build location-based services for emergency responders. Hussein Mouftah is a Distinguished Uni- versity Professor and Tier1CanadaResearch Chair at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Mouftah is developing next-generation technolo- gies that will serve as a foundation for smart cities. He has made significant contributions to the understanding and knowledge of telecommunication networks, including ad hoc and sensor networks related to the Internet of Things (IoT).Dr. Mouftah has auth- ored or co-authored 11 books, 145 industrial reports and more than 1,500 technical papers; to date, he holds 14 patents and six invention disclosures. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the Engineering Institute of Canada and the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada. About the Authors Ho Ho H H w w mo mobi bile le i i is s tr tr tran a sf sfor ormi ming ng... continued from Page 11) PIMRC’17and 5G Summit in Montreal in October Personal, Indoor & Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC ‘17), will be held October 8 -13. One of IEEE Communication Society’s flag- ship conferences, it is widely regarded as a premier conference in the field of wireless research. The conference has a long history of bring- ing together academia, industry and regulatory bodies, and PIMRC 2017 will be no exception. Covering the latest research and innovation in wireless communica- tions technologies, the comprehensive technical and industry program includes core wireless PHY, MAC, and networking, and also encom- passes microwave components and circuits, antennas and propagation aspects, DSP, VLSI, circuits and systems design, power electronics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. For more information please see the website: http://pimrc2017.ieee-pimrc.org/ PIMRC 2017 IMPORTANT DATES: - 5 May 2017—Call For Special-Session Proposals - 5 May 2017—Call For Workshop Proposals - 19 May 2017—Regular Paper Submission The 5G Summit is expected to be collocated with PIMRC 2017. With the support of IEEE Montreal Section’s award-winning ComSoc Chapter, the Summit will be one of 18 held this year. The Summit series was launched in 2015, with the second hosted by Toronto Section’s ComSoc Chapter in November of that year. Please consult the web site for fur- ther information: http://www.5gsummit.org/montreal/ Vawn Himmelsbach is a freelance writer who has written about business and technology for close to 20 years.