Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

SafeZone Indoor Positioning Improves Police Response

  • 03/01/19
texas a&m university

Texas A&M University–San Antonio uses indoor positioning solutions by CriticalArc to improve police response with 3D imaging of the campus and enhanced emergency alerts.

“We live in a 3D world, and now this system gives us a 3D view of our campus,” says Roger Stearns, assistant chief of police at Texas A&M University–San Antonio.

He’s talking about CriticalArc’s Safe-Zone indoor positioning solution, which has been deployed on the campus and now provides his officers with an unprecedented three-dimensional view of the multistory buildings under their protection.

It is transforming the way they work. For example, instead of receiving an alert about ‘an incident somewhere in the student union building,’ they get pinpoint specifics, such as ‘incident on the fourth floor, west wing, outside room 410.’

“With SafeZone indoor positioning, we’re able to provide a faster response, whatever the emergency,” Stearns confirms.

Among other capabilities, SafeZone allows users to receive rapid help simply by activating an alert via an app or, in some cases, a wearable duress alarm. As soon as the alert is triggered, the location and details of the user are streamed to the monitoring team, allowing officers to coordinate a smarter, more targeted response. By enabling responders to visualize the precise location of an incident anywhere on campus, SafeZone is much more powerful than traditional fixed panic alarms and blue light telephones, which are more expensive to install and less accurate in operation.

Texas A&M–San Antonio says it will deploy SafeZone to cover any future expansion of the campus. The technology was introduced with no disruption to the campus in a matter of weeks during the summer break. Stearns adds, “The process to get the SafeZone indoor positioning solution deployed is a simple one, as it’s a wireless installation and easy to maintain.”

www.criticalarc.com

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management March 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Johns Hopkins Starts Construction on New Residence Hall, Dining Facility

    The Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., recently began construction on a new residence hall and dining facility, according to university news. The work involves demolishing the existing Alumni Memorial Residence Hall I, which was built in 1923, to make room for the new facility.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • Big Horn Academy

    Big Horn Academy

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Big Horn Academy has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Wold Architects & Engineers Announces Acquisition of JJCA

    Wold Architects & Engineers, based in Minneapolis, Minn., recently announced that it has acquired JJCA, an architecture firm based in Nashville, Tenn., according to a press release. JJCA specializes in healthcare and education design; the partnership allows both firms to expand their presence across the country while building on existing strengths.