New mobile computing for Queensland emergency services

The increasing availability of high speed wireless data networks and mobile computing devices has spurred the Queensland Government to expand its application of mobile data systems for its agencies providing emergency services.

The Government will set up a panel of providers as a method of giving agencies the flexibility to develop mobile data terminal solutions that meet their needs and utilises existing infrastructure.

The panel will act as a source of mobile data terminal hardware, peripherals and software as well as expanded network coverage via the incorporation of HSDPA (high speed 3G services), satellite networks or other private data networks.

“Emergency Response personnel are particularly dependent on the quality of the information received from dispatch centres,” Government documents on the panel read. “The delivery of more information, faster, and in a more useable form to those personnel is fundamental to improved service delivery and faster response times.

“Integration between disparate systems including dispatch, mapping and navigation, automatic vehicle location, duress alarms and vehicle telemetry are now all possible given the availability of high speed wireless data networks and ruggedised vehicle-mounted processor units.”

The Queensland Ambulance Service will use the new arrangement to replace its ageing mobile data terminal system, and the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service is expected to use the panel to source gear for an automatic vehicle location system.

Currently the Queensland Ambulance Service’s operational vehicles are fitted with a mobile data terminals and external Mobitex modem which are used to receive and process dispatch data from a computer-aided dispatch system over a State Government owned, private mobile data network and returns small text-based messages about paramedic activities.

The mobile data terminals, which also feature integrated GPS devices which in turn provide data to an automatic vehicle location system, are fitted in about 470 vehicles in the state.

It is envisaged that future mobile data terminals will feature automatic route plotting, personnel duress alarms, integration with patient transfer systems and the Queensland Department of Community Safety corporate WAN, an emergency vehicle prioritisation system, and interfaces with a corporate fleet management and vehicle telemetry and management systems.

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