On 20 October, the global satellite navigation community gathered at the ddb forum in Berlin to recognise the year’s most brilliant innovations in commercial applications of satellite technology.
We represented Ireland in the final and presented our idea to the judges. This was a great learning experience as well as a great opportunity for us to network with professionals in our industry.
This year The European Satellite Navigation Competition hit a new all-time record with 515 innovations submitted by entrepreneurs from more than 40 countries. To place #1 in Ireland and top 29 in Europe with our App 112GPS was a compelling and exhilarating experience.
112GPS provides emergency services with accurate location coordinates for calls made from a mobile phone. The lack of accurate caller localisation presents a significant problem to emergency services in responding to emergency callers across Europe, particularly when callers are unable to provide their location verbally.
Using the 112GPS app when a call is made to 112, the user’s GPS coordinates – along with the medical data entered by the user during initial registration – are transmitted securely to emergency services. In addition, the app automatically notifies up to five contacts in the event 112 / 999 is dialed from the user’s mobile device. Despite an EU Directive requesting that all EU countries implement better caller location procedures, a clear solution has not yet been found to this global problem.
App Design, the Irish development company behind 112GPS, firmly believes that this life-saving application will not only help save lives, but also aid emergency services across Europe in saving time, money, and other resources.