New 'LocateMe112' Service Helps Locate Emergency Callers Via Smartphone

3rd January 2015

#Rescue - Casualties in remote or unfamiliar locations can now be found and treated quicker than ever before thanks to a new software solution for smartphones developed by the Air Corps and the HSE.

The video report from RTÉ News above details the LocateMe112 system, designed by helicopter pilot Lt Colin Gallagher, which enables the GPS chip on an emergency caller's smartphone to be activated remotely – via a link sent via SMS – by rescue services, who can then pin-point the exact location of the injured person.

The key feature of LocateMe112 is that it doesn't require the installation of an app, only needing the caller to have a smartphone with location services turned on.

The application is being co-ordinated by the National Aeromedical Co-ordination Centre and is available to agencies across Ireland including the HSE and the Irish Coast Guard.

And since its introduction late last year, the Irish Air Corps says LocateMe112 has been used to great success.

Published in Rescue

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Rescue

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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