Satellite Emergency Notification Device
Encyclopedia
A Satellite Emergency Notification Device or SEND is a portable emergency notification and locating device which uses commercial satellite systems rather than the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system. An example of one such device is SPOT
.
The devices use an internal GPS
chip to gather location information. When the SEND is triggered, this information is sent via commercial satellite to a commercial monitoring agency whose role is to pass the information to an appropriate responding agency. The responding agency contacted depends, in part, on the location. Examples of responding agencies would be military Search and Rescue, Coast Guard, local police, voluntary Search and Rescue.
Typical users/purchasers of these devices are participants in activities such as hiking, mountain biking, climbing, boating and flying. They are also useful for those who work alone in remote areas (loggers, foresters, geologists, fisheries and wildlife staff).
Additional features are increasingly being offered: sending preprogrammed messages, breadcrumb tracking via Google Earth
. Some newer devices offer two-way communication via satellite, for example DeLorme's inReach Communicator and the Yellowbrick 3 Messenger/Tracker .
One of the considerations when buying one of these is ensuring that the International Emergency Response Coordination Centre (IERCC) which receives a distress call maintains an accurate and up-to-date database of response agencies to contact and can quickly determine which is appropriate to the situation/location. One such commercial IERCC is GEOS, used by both SPOT and DeLorme SENDs.
The US Coast Guard's National Search and Rescue Committee (NSARC) set up a working group which includes representation from other US agencies, international organizations and device manufacturers to discuss how these "technologies can be properly reviewed and integrated with the SAR response system in the United States" and to aid the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM)
in "development of a minimum operating and performance specification for such devices". The RTCM working group SC-128 has completed and approved a standard for Emergency Satellite Notification Systems,RTCM 12800, which was published in August 2011.
SPOT Satellite Messenger
The SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger is a Satellite Emergency Notification Device or SEND, designed to be carried into remote locations where the user may require emergency assistance...
.
The devices use an internal GPS
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
chip to gather location information. When the SEND is triggered, this information is sent via commercial satellite to a commercial monitoring agency whose role is to pass the information to an appropriate responding agency. The responding agency contacted depends, in part, on the location. Examples of responding agencies would be military Search and Rescue, Coast Guard, local police, voluntary Search and Rescue.
Typical users/purchasers of these devices are participants in activities such as hiking, mountain biking, climbing, boating and flying. They are also useful for those who work alone in remote areas (loggers, foresters, geologists, fisheries and wildlife staff).
Additional features are increasingly being offered: sending preprogrammed messages, breadcrumb tracking via Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
. Some newer devices offer two-way communication via satellite, for example DeLorme's inReach Communicator and the Yellowbrick 3 Messenger/Tracker .
One of the considerations when buying one of these is ensuring that the International Emergency Response Coordination Centre (IERCC) which receives a distress call maintains an accurate and up-to-date database of response agencies to contact and can quickly determine which is appropriate to the situation/location. One such commercial IERCC is GEOS, used by both SPOT and DeLorme SENDs.
The US Coast Guard's National Search and Rescue Committee (NSARC) set up a working group which includes representation from other US agencies, international organizations and device manufacturers to discuss how these "technologies can be properly reviewed and integrated with the SAR response system in the United States" and to aid the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM)
RTCM
The Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services is an international standards organization.The Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services is an international non-profit scientific, professional and educational organization. RTCM members are organizations that are both non-government...
in "development of a minimum operating and performance specification for such devices". The RTCM working group SC-128 has completed and approved a standard for Emergency Satellite Notification Systems,RTCM 12800, which was published in August 2011.