About Emergency Response Policies

The following actions are available for Emergency Response Policies:

    Creating Emergency Response Policies

    Modifying Emergency Response Policies

    Deleting Emergency Response Policies

    Viewing Emergency Response Policies

About Emergencies

Every device has an emergency response policy assigned to it, and when an emergency is triggered on a device, the device immediately begins executing the actions prescribed by that policy. Additionally, in every emergency, the device immediately attempts to notify the RiskBand ARIES Manager of the emergency. After the RiskBand ARIES Manager receives this notification, it immediately attempts to communicate back to the device that the emergency has been registered. The RiskBand ARIES Manager also executes the actions specified by the emergency response policy. Here are some examples of the actions that are taken by the device and by the RiskBand ARIES Manager in an emergency:

Table 26:    Actions Taken in an Emergency

 

Device Actions

RiskBand ARIES Manager Actions

Always Required

   Notify the RiskBand ARIES Manager of the Emergency

   Acknowledge the Emergency

Optional, or Configurable, Actions specified by the Emergency Response Policy

   Continuously call home to the RiskBand ARIES Manager with GPS coordinates

   Initiate a voice call to a security organization

   Accept a voice call from a security organization

   Capture and upload photos to the RiskBand ARIES Manager

   Self-cancel emergency

   Notify all users with “Receive Emergency Notifications” permissions of the emergency

   Issue a RESTful API call to a specified security system

   Start timer on the window for device self-cancellation

   Close emergency

About Emergency Self-Cancellation

RiskBand recommends that active emergencies be closed using the RiskBand ARIES Manager. However, you can optionally configure an emergency response policy to allow device users to self-cancel an emergency under one of the following two conditions:

    The self-cancellation request is received by the RiskBand ARIES Manager within a specified period of time from when the emergency was triggered (Self-Cancellation Allowed window). The timer for this window starts the moment the emergency is triggered.

    The device has been unable to sustain a data connection with the RiskBand ARIES Manager for a specified period of time (Voice-Only Failback Timeout), and, consequently, the device user is allowed to self-cancel the emergency. In an emergency where the device intermittently connects with the RiskBand ARIES Manager, the timer restarts after each successful communication between the device and the RiskBand ARIES Manager. In other words, in a single emergency with a poor data connection, the ability to self-cancel may come and go.

About Emergency Phases

The following phases have been defined for all emergencies:

1. Just Triggered

2. Recently Triggered

3. Not Recently Triggered

4. Critical (there is approximately 1% battery level remaining on the device)

The length of time the device spends in phases 1 and 2 can be configured in the emergency response policy. The length of time the device is in phase 3 is the time between when phase 2 ends and when the device reaches the critical battery state. Phase 4 can only be entered from phase 3 (after phase 1 and 2 have completed).

The following actions can be separately configured for emergency phases:

    The number of seconds between each photo being taken. (In phase 4 no photos are captured and all photos stop uploading.)

    The frequency with which the device calls home (with GPS coordinates)

 

Note:   During and emergency, the call home frequencies specified by the emergency response policy will override the frequency specified in the power management policy. After the emergency is closed, the device will return to calling home at the interval specified in it’s assigned power management policy.

Creating Emergency Response Policies

To create an emergency response policy:

1. In the navigation pane, under the Policy section, right-click Emergency Response Policies and select Create Emergency Response Policy.

The Create Emergency Response Policy dialog box appears. This screen contains three tabs with the following components.

Table 27:    General Tab for Create Emergency Response Policy 

Component

Required/

Optional

Description

Name

Required

The name of the emergency response policy. Maximum 80 characters.

Description

Optional

A description of the emergency response policy. Maximum 512 characters.

Organization

Required

The accessibility of the emergency response policy. That is, whether the policy is available only to a specific organization, or whether the policy is available to every organization in the RiskBand ARIES Manager.

Handled by GEOS

Required

If GEOS is the security organization that will respond to emergencies, select Aways.

If you are using a different security organization, select Never.

Device Emergency Indication

Required

There are two options:

   Discrete — in discreet mode, Discreet Emergency Icons are displayed on the device screen that correspond to phases of the triggered emergency.

   Stealth — in stealth mode no visual indicators are displayed on the device screen. The only feedback to the user that an emergency is in progress is regular device vibration.

Self-Cancellation Allowed

Required

The default setting is Disabled, which means users cannot cancel an emergency using the device after it has been triggered. (In certain cases, however, where the device cannot keep a data connection with the RiskBand ARIES Manager for the period of time specified by the Voice-Only Failback Timeout, self-cancellation from the device is allowed.)

If you choose to Enable Self-Cancellation, you will need to specify how many seconds you will allow for a device user to cancel an emergency. Minimum 0 seconds, Maximum 3600 seconds.

Specifying a value of 0 means that the device can self-cancel the emergency up until it transmits the emergency to RiskBand ARIES Manager. Specifying a value greater than 0, means that the device user has the opportunity to self-cancel an emergency within the specified amount of time.

The self-cancellation timer starts when the emergency is triggered on the device.

HTTP Server to Notify

Required

When this field is enabled, ARIES executes the RESTful API call specified. The call is executed whenever any device using this emergency response policy triggers an alarm.

If a call fails, an entry is added to Notification Failures (see About Notification Failures).

Figure 11:   Discreet Emergency Icons

discreetEmergencyIconDisplay.png
Table 28:    Voice Calls Tab for Create Emergency Response Policy 

Component

Required/

Optional

Description

Dial-Out Number

Required

When this is Enabled, you can enter the telephone number the device will call when an emergency is triggered.

RiskBand recommends that you define a dial-out phone number, rather than to have calls come into the device, in order to minimize the time between when an emergency is triggered and when a voice call is established.

Note: If a call is dropped during an emergency, the device will call home to determine if the emergency is still active, and, if it is, the device will re-initiate the voice call.

Dial-Out with Caller ID

Required

When this is Enabled, the device telephone number will be supplied as the caller ID string.

Warning: Device telephone numbers should be treated as confidential information. If unauthorized persons obtain the device telephone number they could interfere with the function of a device during an emergency.

Dial-Out Trigger

Required

There are two dial out triggers for the device:

   Upon Emergency Triggered (on the device)

   Upon Emergency Registered (with the RiskBand ARIES Manager)

Accept Incoming Voice Calls

Required

When Enabled, the device can receive an incoming voice call from a security organization.

RiskBand recommends that you disable this feature, and instead enable the device with a Dial-Out Number. Setting the device to receive incoming calls can introduce delays in connecting the voice calls, and, in situations where there is no data connectivity, fail to notify the responding security organization to make the voice call.

Note: If an in coming call is dropped, it is the responsibility of the responding security organization to re-initiate the voice call. The device will not attempt to call the security organization.

Note: Devices only accept incoming calls when there is an active emergency in progress.

Require Caller ID Substring

Required

When Enabled, you can enter a substring, and the device will only answer a call if some portion of the incoming caller ID matches that substring. Multiple substrings can be entered in this field when separated by the | character.

For example:

   A s ubstring of "7204443333" would match an incoming caller ID of "7204443333"or "+17204443333"

   A substring of "GEOS" would match any incoming caller ID with the following strings: "GEOS”, "geos", "gEos”, "GEOS Services", "Asia GEOS Response"

   A substring of "7204443333|GEOS" would match any of the example incoming caller IDs provided above.

   A substring of "GEOS|FBI" would match an incoming caller ID if it contained either the substring "GEOS" or the substring "FBI"

Warning: It is extremely easy to spoof a caller ID string. Consequently, RiskBand recommends that emergency response policies be configured to have devices initiate all voice calls.

Note: Regardless of whether specified substrings match an incoming caller ID, devices only accept incoming calls when there is an active emergency in progress.

Speaker Level

Required

The speaker level can be set between 1 and 100.

Timeout to Hang Up After Emergency Closed

Required

After the device receives a notice that the emergency is closed, the device will hang up on a voice call after the specified time. Minimum 0 seconds, Maximum 600 seconds.

Note: This timeout applies regardless of whether the voice call was placed by the device or was accepted as an incoming call.

Voice-Only Failback Timeout

Required

The amount of time the device can be out of communication with the RiskBand ARIES Manager before self-cancellation is allowed.

In most cases, emergencies can only be closed using the RiskBand ARIES Manager. However, there is an exception where emergencies can be self-canceled within a specified time window after being triggered (see Self-Cancellation Allowed). And there is another exception where, after an emergency has been registered with the RiskBand ARIES Manager, the device loses it’s data connection to the RiskBand ARIES Manager for the the length of time specified by the Voice-Only Failback Timeout. When this timeout expires, the device is allowed to self-cancel the emergency.

When an emergency is canceled after the Voice-Only Failback Timeout has expired, the device will wait until it again has a data connection with the RiskBand ARIES Manager. The device will then register and close the emergency on the RiskBand ARIES Manager and begin to upload the photos from the emergency.

Note: It is possible to go in and out of voice-only failback mode during a single active emergency. Every time a data connection is established with the RiskBand ARIES Manager, the timeout timer is reset. When no data connection with the RiskBand ARIES Manager is available, emergencies can only be self-canceled in periods where the timeout has expired.

Table 29:    Data Capture Tab for Create Emergency Response Policy 

Component

Required/

Optional

Description

Phase 1 Duration

Required

The duration of phase 1 of the emergency. Minimum 1 second, Maximum 300 seconds.

Phase 2 Duration

Required

The duration of phase 2 of the emergency. Minimum 1 second, Maximum 1,800 seconds.

Number Photos to Capture Rapidly

Required

If Enabled, this is the number of photos that the device will capture rapidly when an emergency is first triggered. (“Rapidly” means approximately 2 photos per second.) Minimum 1 photo, Maximum 40 photos.

The number of photos captured is not constrained by the length of time allowed for Phase 1 or Phase 2. That is, even if the time limit for Phase 1 and Phase 2 expires, the device will continue taking photos rapidly until the specified number of photos have been taken.

Phase 1 Seconds between Photo Captures

Required

If Enabled, this is the number seconds that the device will wait between capturing individual photos in phase 1 of an emergency. Minimum 1 second, Maximum 60 seconds.

Phase 2 Seconds between Photo Captures

Required

If Enabled, this is the number seconds that the device will wait between capturing individual photos in phase 2 of an emergency. Minimum 6 seconds, Maximum 60 seconds

Phase 3 Seconds between Photo Captures

Required

If Enabled, this is the number seconds that the device will wait between capturing individual photos in phase 3 of an emergency. Minimum 9 seconds, Maximum 60 seconds

Phase 1 Call Home Frequency

Required

How often the device should call home with GPS coordinates during Phase 1 of an emergency. Minimum 6 seconds, Maximum 60 seconds.

Phase 2 Call Home Frequency

Required

How often the device should call home with GPS coordinates during Phase 2 of an emergency. Minimum 6 seconds, Maximum 3,600 seconds.

Phase 3 Call Home Frequency

Required

How often the device should call home with GPS coordinates during Phase 3 of an emergency. Minimum 6 seconds, Maximum 3.600 seconds.

Phase 4 Call Home Frequency

Required

How often the device should call home with GPS coordinates during Phase 4 of an emergency. Minimum 6 seconds, Maximum 86,400 seconds.

Note: Phase 4 is the critical battery phase.

2. Choose the options from the fields and drop-down menus on the screen, and after you are finished click OK.

The Emergency Response policy is added to the content pane.

Modifying Emergency Response Policies

To modify an emergency response policy:

1. In the navigation pane, under the Policy section, click Emergency Response Policies.

2. In the Emergency Response Policies content pane, right-click the policy you want to modify and select Modify Emergency Response Policy.

The Modify Emergency Response Policy dialog box appears. For a description of the fields displayed in the dialog box, see General Tab for Create Emergency Response Policy , Voice Calls Tab for Create Emergency Response Policy , and Data Capture Tab for Create Emergency Response Policy .

3. Enter the information in the fields in the dialog box, and after you are finished click OK.

The emergency response policy is modified.

Deleting Emergency Response Policies

To delete an emergency response policy:

1. In the navigation pane, under the Policy section, click Emergency Response Policies.

2. In the Emergency Response Policies content pane, click the policy you want to delete.

You can also Ctrl-Click or Shift-Click on multiple policies if you want to delete multiple policies at the same time.

3. Right-click the selected policy or policies and select Delete Emergency Response Policy.

The Delete Emergency Response Policy dialog box appears.

4. Confirm the deletion of the policy or policies by clicking OK.

5. In the Confirm dialog box, type YES and click OK.

The selected policy or policies are deleted.

Viewing Emergency Response Policies

To view an emergency response policy:

1. In the navigation pane, under the Policy section, click Emergency Response Policies.

2. In the Emergency Response Policies content pane, right-click the policy you want to view and select View Emergency Response Policy.

The View Emergency Response Policy dialog box appears. For a description of the fields displayed in the dialog box, see General Tab for Create Emergency Response Policy , Voice Calls Tab for Create Emergency Response Policy , and Data Capture Tab for Create Emergency Response Policy .

3. After you are finished viewing the information about the policy, click Close.

The View Emergency Response Policy dialog box closes.