Wireless crash test draws business, government attention

Throw some model cars, wireless technology and a half-dozen congressmen in a room, and what do you get? With luck, their combined capabilities can improve auto safety.

Earlier this month, technology leaders, lawmakers and public safety proponents gathered on Capitol Hill to witness a simulation of the LifeTrak safety service, which uses telemetry to accelerate emergency response to auto accidents. Although model cars were used for the demonstration, the service’s life-saving potential is real.

The LifeTrak service is jointly provided by InterTrak Tracking Services (www.intertrak.com), TelEvoke (www.televoke.com) and Aeris.net’s MicroBurst wireless data system (www.aeris.com). When a vehicle with the LifeTrak system crashes, wireless alerts automatically notify emergency workers, family and others via wireless phone, e-mail, web interface or page.

The July 18 demonstration was conducted in the foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill. Members of Congress, including Rep. Charles Pickering and Sen. Sam Brownback, attended the demonstration. Sen. Brownback serves on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; Rep. Pickering serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee (www.thomas.loc.gov).

“I was extremely impressed with the wireless safety technology on display at the Comcare demonstration last week,” Brownback said via a spokesperson. “As our society becomes increasingly mobile due to the widespread availability of wireless communications resources, call location, crash notification and other wireless safety technologies are vitally important to public safety. I look forward to the widespread deployment of these capabilities to consumers.”

The participating companies are members of the ComCARE Alliance (www.comcare.org), an organization promoting better public safety through technology.

“We are a strong advocate and helped successfully pass the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999, making 911 universal,” said Patrick Halley, Com CARE Alliance outreach coordinator. “That was our largest legislative effort. We also pushed last year for legislation to encourage research on automatic crash notification (ACN).”

“There is ACN today, but it’s rudimentary.”

The demonstration last week - although sophisticated in one sense, can be further improved and enhanced, which is the goal of ComCARE’s Sophisticated ACN Committee. The group of medical and technology professionals seeks to incorporate advanced alerting capabilities into ACN systems.

“Sophisticated ACN wouldn’t only apply to the air bag,” Halley said. “It would send wireless alerts based on other factors such as speed on impact, final resting position, whether the car rolled.”

Although insurance companies are not members of ComCARE, Halley said the group had heard from Progressive Insurance, and said the company was interested in offering discounts on premiums for customers using ACN systems in their vehicles.

The LifeTrak system - similar to GM’s OnStar service (www.onstar.com) - is different in that it is targeted at the auto aftermarket, and can be installed on any make or model for a reasonable cost, according to InterTrak. The auto aftermarket represents a potential of 200 million vehicles.

Liz Maxfield, vice president of external affairs for Aeris, said the wireless industry strongly supports all uses of technology for public safety. “We at Aeris have not really been involved in the E-911 proceedings,” Maxfield said. “But we support the deployment of basic technologies through private-sector efforts. The demo was really private companies who said, ‘Hey this is a great service we can provide.’ And they choose to use our network.”

During the demonstration, model cars equipped with LifeTrak sensors were crashed into cinder blocks, which sent the crash data on Aeris.net’s MicroBurst system to TelEvoke’s call center, which routed the accident data via website alerts and paging cellular phones.

“What we did with the demo was to simulate the events of a real-life emergency,” Maxfield said. “In other instances, if the customer has indicated a desire to have family notified as well, that also can be done. A sensor can also pop the door lock, indicate low battery strength, notify you if the vehicle’s alarm has activated.” The system can be installed on any vehicle. While prohibitive costs have kept many in-vehicle telematics systems out of reach for mid- to lower-priced vehicles, newer models are targeting all vehicles.