How We Started
Engineers who founded 360VL played key roles in the design and development of a multi-
agency, emergency responder tracking system built for Colorado Springs Fire Department and
the surrounding military bases. The system's key features include:
- 3-second location update interval on the majority of CSFD's fire apparatus
- Central traffic control integration. Fire vehicles receive green lights on their way to an
incident (signal preemption)
- Computer aided dispatch (911 CAD) integration to automatically choose routes to
incidents
- Subscription-less data radio network covering over 350 square miles for near-real-time
vehicle coverage
- Custom in-vehicle hardware and rugged enclosure systems
This is the first automated vehicle location (AVL) system to include multiple military agencies, bases, and municipal emergency responders in the same common operational picture.
Next Generation
The system we helped design and develop for Colorado Springs is not
for sale. Therefore, from this experience 360VL went on to develop
its own commercially available in-vehicle hardware, 360VL-M4,
middleware, 360VL-MUX, and Flash-based mapping software, Overdrive.
In conjunction with companies such as CH2M Hill, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Woolpert, 360VL
has established relationships with firms who can pull together very large projects requiring
extensive military and civilian project management experience as needed.
The 360VL-M4 provides the capability for a vehicle to travel through various communication
coverage areas and automatically pick the best communication mode available based on cost
and signal. These modes include cellular, satellite, data radio, and 802.11. The purpose of
360VL-M4 is to provide a flexible platform for rescue vehicles which must cover vast areas,
and need near-real-time location tracking, but try to maintain costs (not be 100% satellite
based, especially when there are better alternatives available in the area.) 360VL-M4 can be
configured for 1 to 4 modes of communication.
360VL resells its Flash-based mapping client platform, 360VL Overdrive, to OEMs for a
variety of purposes not necessarily related to vehicle location or emergency responders. Any
geolocation application can benefit from the Overdrive platform.
