In this Issue:

● New Pictometry® Integration gives Symposium CAD and Mobile Data Users
Photographic “Real-World” View of Incident Scenes

● Symposium Integrates GuardianWatch™ Intelligent Video to Provide
Enhanced Live-Time Monitoring and Incident Assessment

● Symposium Technologies to Provide Alarm Monitoring to Two New Military Clients –
Canadian Forces Bases Trenton and Greenwood

New Pictometry® Integration gives Symposium CAD and Mobile Data Users
Photographic “Real-World” View of Incident Scenes

If a picture is worth a thousand words, aerial images that deliver detailed photographic views of incident scenes in a 3D-like format to fire fighters, police and EMS personnel must be near-on invaluable. With the integration of Pictometry®, Symposium now offers clients the option to instantly view accurate, zoom-able, high-resolution photos of every municipal address within their jurisdiction, directly from the Horizon EME™ CAD and EM Mobile™ mobile data system.

Pictometry differs from traditional aerial and satellite images in that it provides up to twenty oblique (from an angle) views for every address, from multiple directions. This makes it easy to quickly and accurately grasp the lay of the land, and to plan a response with the very best visual intelligence available.

Pictometry ® response location views are available in both the Horizon EME™ and EM Mobile™

The result is an invaluable tool for both planning and response, providing public safety agencies with better strategic intelligence on how to tackle major incidents, and enabling improved tactical in-the-field decision-making by allowing dispatchers and responding personnel to see the exact terrain they have to deal with, before they even arrive on scene.

The Symposium-Pictometry® integration is seamless and transparent, enabling dispatchers using the Horizon EME™ CAD and responding personnel utilizing the in-vehicle EM Mobile™ mobile data system to switch back and forth between the traditional map view and the Pictometry® view by simply clicking one button. Once in Pictometry® mode, users can choose what direction they want to view the address from, and what zoom level is appropriate for the detail they want to use – it’s that simple.

Client response to this new feature has been tremendous, straight across the board. Peabody Fire in Massachusetts was one of the first to go live with the new integration, with Symposium-enabled access to Pictometry® in both the dispatch command center and in the vehicles. According to Peabody firefighter and project coordinator Russ Lewis, the new capability has made a major and immediate difference: “With this new feature, our command and control capabilities are light years ahead - We’re able to actually see what we’ll be dealing with on an incident level, with instant access to detailed imagery when and where it’s needed. On their own, each system is great, but together the combination of CAD, mobile data and Pictometry® has put us far ahead of the curve in terms of preparation and effectiveness”.

This sentiment is echoed by Symposium Technologies, which places the Pictometry® project in the context of the company’s ongoing emphasis on integration as a crucial tool in making our systems better and more useful to clients. As a company representative put it, there’s often a big disconnect between the focus of many companies and the needs of clients: “Sometimes companies get so caught up in focusing on just their own product, that they don’t pay enough attention to the bigger issue – how their product can best be used to help address the broader needs and goals of their clients.”

And, for Symposium, that’s where the emphasis on integration comes in: “We take a more client-centered approach, starting with the question of what the customer needs to accomplish. We then either build in or integrate the very best technologies available to deliver the strongest and most complete solution for each client’s needs. Whether it be Pictometry®, the FIREHOUSE® RMS, GPS, mobile data, alarm monitoring, CCTV, or other technologies, the result is the most comprehensive, targeted and practical use of the available tools to achieve the goal – faster, safer response to real-world situations and emergencies.”

Going forward Symposium plans to incorporate even more Pictometry® features into its CAD and mobile data, such as the system’s unique and powerful measuring capability. This will enable users to obtain vital measurements from the Pictometry® image such as distance, height, elevation, and area directly on the oblique imagery, thereby helping them better plan how best to set up and tackle the situation beforehand.

Symposium Integrates GuardianWatch™ Intelligent Video to Provide
Enhanced Live-Time Monitoring and Incident Assessment

Symposium is a pioneer not just in public safety dispatch, but also in alarm monitoring and critical infrastructure protection. For professionals involved in monitoring large areas or installations, seeing what’s happening on scene in real time can be invaluable in dealing with threats and emergencies. The question is however, how do you process and distill the huge amounts of (mostly routine) information made available through traditional CCTV systems? Thanks to Symposium’s integration with the GuardianWatch™ system, personnel engaged in alarm monitoring for fire and security have access to timely, detailed digital video information, without having to monitor endless banks of displays.

Digital video and CCTV integration are nothing new to Symposium, with municipal camera systems having been integrated into the Horizon EME™ CAD to help public safety clients better monitor particularly difficult incidents such as vehicle fires on busy highways. Now, with the GuardianWatch™ system however, this capability is brought to a whole new level. Provided by Guardian Solutions, GuardianWatch™ offers an intelligent software-based video system that can recognize and evaluate threats based on user-defined criteria, making it far easier to monitor large sites, and making better use of time, personnel and resources.

An example would be for physical intrusion, where the system could be programmed to ignore anything coming into its field of view below a certain size. Once anything human-sized is detected however, a visual and audio alert can be triggered, informing personnel of a potential intrusion. Another example would be with infrared capability, which could be used to better detect heat build-ups past a certain magnitude, with a resulting alert to personnel.

The strength of integrating the GuardianWatch™ system into the EME™ CAD and alarm monitoring suite is that clients now have access to an even greater set of sensors for detecting in-field incidents and events in real time, as well as a more comprehensive and complete incident response solution. With this new system, clients have the full range of detection and response capabilities in one package. Not only can they better see what’s happening in real time, but the CAD itself enables them to respond better by helping decide who to send, and what resources and SOP’s are appropriate to the task.

Going forward, critical infrastructure protection and security will continue to grow as one of Symposium’s core business areas, something which fits very well with the company’s traditional emphasis on public safety and emergency management. With the integration of GuardianWatch™, we are in an even better position to provide value to clients in these areas by enabling them to make the best, most appropriate and intelligent use of all their informational assets, in ways that make the most sense for their needs and mandate.

For more information, or for those interested in seeing the system in action, please contact Symposium by emailing us at info@symposium911.com.

Symposium Technologies to Provide Alarm Monitoring to Two New Military Clients –
Canadian Forces Bases Trenton and Greenwood

Symposium continues to make major inroads in the military market with the announcement of new alarm monitoring systems for CFB Trenton and CFB Greenwood.

CFB Trenton is a major logistics and staging area for many of Canada’s overseas missions, home as it is to major transport and re-supply squadrons. The base’s Hercules and Polaris aircraft are also engaged in more traditional search and rescue work, often flying missions of mercy across the length and breadth of the country. On top of this, Trenton is home base for the Challenger jets that provide transportation to the Canadian Prime Minister and Governor General, as well as members of the British Royal Family when they visit the country. CFB Greenwood, located in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, is a major naval aviation center that plays host to a wide variety of aircraft with missions based around long-range maritime and arctic patrol, anti-submarine warfare, and search and rescue.

In both cases, Symposium is providing sophisticated central alarm monitoring systems that will allow personnel to better supervise and secure the large and sensitive installations located at each facility. In each case, the system will be integrated with a wide variety of remote sensors that will provide instant alerting regarding potential alarms, including location, type, suggested operating procedures, and a variety of other information. As well, there are plans to incorporate Symposium’s EM Mobile™ mobile data system to provide in-field responders with real time access to alarm monitoring and response information. With this new system, military clients now have the full range of detection and response capabilities in one package. Not only can they better see what’s happening in real time, but the CAD itself enables them to respond better by helping decide who to send, and what resources and SOP’s are appropriate to the task.

Working in partnership with Siemens and Electronic Surveillance Corporation, the new Symposium installations represent some of the most advanced monitoring technology currently deployed in the world. According to ESC’s Gord Duggan, some of the sensing equipment is so advanced that ESC is the only company to date to successfully meet the new ULC 559 listing.

With the addition of these two new clients, Symposium’s Horizon EME™ Alarm Monitoring System has clearly emerged as the system of choice for the Canadian military in providing comprehensive monitoring for army, air force, and navy bases throughout the country. With our extensive experience in providing mission critical alerting and real time protection for sensitive government installations and critical infrastructure throughout North America, Symposium is rapidly expanding our position in this market.

With literally tens of thousands of sensitive installations ranging from nuclear plants to chemical factories, North America has an urgent need for technologies which have the flexibility and power to let them head off emergencies before they happen, and to better respond when they do. With Symposium’s expertise and experience in response technology and integration, and reputation for getting the job done on time and on budget, we expect to continue expanding our work in this area, and helping clients conduct their missions with greater safety and peace of mind.

For more information, or for those interested in seeing the system in action, please contact Symposium by emailing us at info@symposium911.com.

Next Issue

More contract announcements, new system enhancements, and lots of other great stuff!

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