Personal Alert and Safety System

10 December 2010

Personal Alert and Safety System

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) documentation.

Written by CS410 Blue Team:

Brittany Dufort
Jonathon Szewczak
Gordon Bland
Braden Gibson
Marcus Henry
Dan Cox

Table of Contents

1 – Project Summary 5

2 – Problem Description 6

2.1 – Historical Data 7

2.1.1 On and Around the Old Dominion University Campus in 20082 7

2.2 – Problem Characteristics 8

2.3 – Customer Definition 9

3 – Solution Description 10

3.1 – Objectives 11

3.1.1 How it works 11

3.1.2 Goals 11

3.2 – Major Functional Component and Data Flow Diagrams 13

3.2.1 Major Functional Component Diagram 13

3.2.2 Data Flow Diagram 14

3.3 – Requirements 15

3.3.1 Phase 0 15

3.3.2 Phase 1 15

3.3.3 Phase 2 (Additional from Phase 1) 15

3.3.4 Phase 3 and Beyond (Additional from Phase 2) 15

3.4 – Software Development 16

3.4.1 Milestones 16

3.4.1.1 Phase 0 and 1 16

3.4.1.2 Phase 2 16

3.4.1.3 Phase 3 and beyond 16

3.4.2 Database Schema Diagram 17

3.4.3 Data Representation in Master Control Unit 17

4 – References 18

5 – Appendix 19

5.1 – Management Plan 20

5.1.1 Program Identification 20

5.1.1.1 Program Management Overview 20

5.1.1.2 Management Approach 21

5.1.2 Project Outlook 21

5.1.3 Tool Utilization 21

5.1.4 Team Organization and Corporate Structure 21

5.1.4.1 Phase 0 (CS410) 22

5.1.4.2 Phase 1 (CS411) 23

5.1.4.3 Phase 2 – Functional Prototype and Development 25

5.1.4.4 Phase 3 – Post Production 26

5.1.4.5 Program Duration 27

5.1.5 Progress Performance Assessment 27

5.2 – Funding Plan 28

5.2.1 Phase 1 Funding 28

5.2.2 Phase 2 Funding 29

5.2.3 Phase 3 Funding 30

5.3 – Staffing Plan 31

5.3.1 Phase 0 31

5.3.2 Phase 1 31

5.3.3 Phase 2 32

5.3.4 Phase 3 32

5.4 – Resource Plan 33

5.4.1 Phase 0 33

5.4.2 Phase 1 33

5.4.3 Phase 2 33

5.5 – Risk Mitigation Plan 34

5.5.1 Summary 34

5.5.2 Risk Matrix 34

5.5.3 Risks and Mitigation 34

5.5.3.1 Cost to Customer 34

5.5.3.2 Initial Cost Outlay 35

5.5.3.3 Radio Signal Interference 35

5.5.3.4 High Maintenance Costs / Requirements 35

5.5.3.5 PASS Fails When Triggered 36

5.5.3.6 Possible Misuse / Deviant Usage 36

5.5.3.7 FCC Regulation Prohibition 36

5.6 – Evaluation Plan 38

5.6.1 Purpose 38

5.6.2 Evaluation Criteria 38

5.6.3 Phase 0 38

5.6.4 Phase 1 39

5.6.5 Phase 2 39

5.6.6 Phase 3 40

5.7 – Marketing Plan 41

5.7.1 Potential Market 41

5.7.2 Initial Market 41

5.7.3 Product Package 41

5.7.4 Customer Return on Investment 41

5.7.5 Team Return on Investment 42

5.8 – WBS per Phase 43

5.8.1. Phase 0 WBS 43

5.8.2 Phase 1 WBS 44

5.8.3 Phase 2 WBS 45

5.8.4 Phase 3 WBS 46

1 – Project Summary

In times of need, people know to call 9-1-1 for assistance. Unfortunately, calling 9-1-1 requires two things to work: a phone and a voice conversation. In the event of a personal crime (i.e. robbery or assault) the victims do not want to be fishing in their pocket or purse for a phone, or trying to place a call for fear of aggravating their assailant. Consequently, they wait until after the crime has been committed to make the call.

Now imagine a system very much like the silent alarms used in banks, but small enough that it can be carried around in a pocket or purse. One push of a button on a small handheld device and a dispatch station knows that a person is trouble, where they are, and that they are in a situation where they cannot call 9-1-1 directly. The Personal Alert and Safety System (PASS) is such a system.

The small device that a user would carry on their person is a device very similar to a modern vehicle’s wireless remote, known as a fob. This device is small, lightweight, unobtrusive, and easy to use. The user only needs to push a button on the fob and the alert signal is on its way to dispatch. There is no audible sound to aggravate or warn an attacker. There is no flashing light to annoy the assailant. It’s just a push of a button.

The signal is carried over a network of wireless radio transceivers back to the dispatch station where it is caught, processed and presented to the dispatch personnel on duty. The alert is displayed on a map of the network area pinpointing the location of the alarm and basic vital information about the victim. Best of all, once triggered the alert will repeat itself allowing dispatch to track the progress of an alert that is in motion, until it is reset by a first responder.

PASS is intended for large institutions that have a security force that can act as first responders and dispatch monitoring personnel (i.e. civil/business complexes and universities/colleges). PASS is not intended to be a substitute for any 9-1-1 system, but to be an added layer of extra personal security.

2 – Problem Description

1.  Historical Data

2.  Problem Characteristics

3.  Customer Definition

2.1 – Historical Data

US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics1

2.1.1 On and Around the Old Dominion University Campus in 20082

  10 personal crimes on campus

  2 in residence halls

  4 off campus

  46 in the surrounding neighborhoods

  That averages 1 crime per week for the entire year.

2.2 – Problem Characteristics

Security professionals, public and private, often find themselves in a reactive role. A call for help comes in and they must respond as quickly as possible. Therefore by the very nature of reactive roles, the amount of time it takes a security professional to answer the call is critical. In the case of personal crimes (i.e. robbery, assault, etc.) it is even more so. In some extreme cases a savings in response time of even a single minute can mean the difference between life and death.

As a result, as a society that is becoming increasingly security conscious, it is prudent to do everything possible to decrease response times. However, this is an ideal that is easier stated than accomplished. Response time is heavily dependent on a number of factors: the nature of the problem, inadequate information from the victim, the location of the event in regards to the closest first responder, and many others. It is often very difficult to isolate a single cause for the delays that response time can be subject to. PASS aims takes aim at two of the response time factors: verbal communication with responder operators and location.

In existing emergency response models, a victim (or bystander) makes a telephone call to an emergency number like 9-1-1. The call is answered promptly and the victim is then required to give accurate information to the operator about the location and nature of the emergency. This call will usually be made after the incident has taken place. Sometimes the caller is in a panicked state and communication becomes difficult, thus the operators must be well-trained in communication skills in order to render the proper assistance. This model has been the standard for years and it works and yet there is always room for improvement. A properly implemented PASS system can do just that.

2.3 – Customer Definition

There are three main factors that will be considered when our target customer base is established: the size of the potential customer’s installation, the apparent need for our solution, and the ability to financially support PASS. In that regard what is looked for are large complexes set in an environment that is targeted by criminal elements.

The first target customer type will be universities and colleges. These institutions are ideal for PASS because their members are prime targets of personal crimes. They are usually young men and women who may not be accustomed to paying special attention to their personal safety. The amount of acreage that these institutions cover is also ideal for PASS, since pinpointing a location could be difficult for a victim. On the financial side, universities and colleges can use the tuition and fees they charge students to offset the financial burdens of PASS. They can even declare a PASS fob as required so that most financial aid sources will help in covering the costs for the student. Also, there may be special grants and funding that the higher education institutions could apply for that would subsidize the installation of PASS.

Other potential clients include large business complexes, like that of Google, Inc. or Microsoft Corporation. These businesses have a large employee base, their facilities are sprawling, and they already have security professionals on guard. They also have the financial wherewithal to easily support an implementation of PASS.

Civil complexes such as those seen in Washington, D.C. would also be prime candidates. There are a vast number of people working in those buildings and areas. There are a lot of crime-ridden areas surrounding the government buildings. The cost of a large PASS system could be incorporated into the Homeland Security budget and therefore easily paid for with federal tax dollars.

Finally there is one last note on potential customers. PASS implementations do not necessarily need to be used in a sprawling area. Because the location of the intrinsic transceivers will be known to the PASS control unit, PASS could easily be used in a large multi-floor office building such as Trump Tower. The owners of one of these buildings could then support the installation with proceeds from the leases they have issued to tenants.

PASS is an innovative solution to a growing problem. Every large institution that covers a lot of acreage and fields its own security force could benefit from it. The safety of an institution’s members should be one of the paramount concerns for the institution’s governors; especially for those complexes that are situated in a more heavily populated and/or urban setting.

3 – Solution Description

1.  Objectives

2.  Major Functional Component Diagram

3.  Requirements

4.  Software Development

3.1 – Objectives

A PASS implementation aims to improve response time of first responders attending a personal crime or emergency event. It does this by allowing the user to trigger a silent alarm via a small radio device. The alarm is received by the security force dispatch center and a first responder is routed to the scene. This method allows the first responders to report to the scene faster for several reasons.

The use of the fob allows the victim to initiate a call for help without having to take time to look for a phone or place a call. Also, because the fob is small and unobtrusive, the call for help can be made earlier in the process of an event. As soon as a victim is accosted he/she could push a button and send an alert, thus eliminating the need to wait for the end of the event to call for help.

A PASS system will triangulate a victim’s location and that information back to the dispatch station. This greatly aids in the response factor, since a dispatcher does not need to glean that information from a victim via slow verbal communication.

3.1.1 How it works

A user of the system would be carrying a small radio signal emitting fob. The device would be no larger than an automobile wireless remote. It would also be capable of fitting on a user’s key ring to make it more convenient to carry.

When the user presses a button – or perhaps a simple combination of buttons to avoid inadvertent trigger – the signal would be sent out. This signal would be received by multiple wireless transceivers installed strategically over the entire campus to afford the most coverage. When the first transceivers receive the signal from the fob, the transceiver’s microprocessor appends a prefix code telling the system which transceivers saw the signal first. It then retransmits the signal. The next transceiver inline sees that a prefix has been appended and then retransmits the signal again. This process continues until the signal reaches the dispatch station.

At the dispatch station, a powered receiver senses the incoming signal and passes it to the Master Control Unit (MCU). The MCU is a computer server that will decode and process the signal. It will use the incoming signals to triangulate the location of the fob. Additionally, since each fob will be registered to a single user, the incoming signal can be used to pull vital statistics on the user. It will then display this information and the location to the dispatch operator via a convenient mapping graphic user interface. The dispatcher would then route the nearest first responder to the scene. Additionally, if the first responders had a computer that was linked to the same network as the dispatch station, the map data could be displayed there too.

3.1.2 Goals

The following is an itemized list of goals that PASS aims to accomplish:

1. Users equipped with radio transmitter fobs.
2. Wireless Transceivers installed in the most strategic locations to give maximum coverage.
3. Transceivers relay received alert signals to dispatch station.
4. MCU uses specialized software to process signal and display location in custom graphic user interface.
5. Allow graphic user interface to be viewed in first responder vehicles (if so equipped).

3.2 – Major Functional Component and Data Flow Diagrams

3.2.1 Major Functional Component Diagram

3.2.2 Data Flow Diagram

3.3 – Requirements

3.3.1 Phase 0

1.  Staffing