|
GPS Unpredictable Signals
Project
Lifesaver will issue advisories on a periodic basis covering
topics of special interest for both the public and Project
Lifesaver teams.
GPS
and Wandering:
More Questions
than Answers
By Chief Gene Saunders
Executive Director, Project Lifesaver International
Chesapeake,
Virginia August 2005
I'm sure most, if not all of
you have heard a lot concerning the use of Global Positioning
Systems (GPS) to locate the missing and the wandering. In
fact, there has been a lot of media coverage given to these
systems and we have had many inquiries regarding the potential
use of GPS in our program. Because the for-profit companies developing
these systems have targeted the elderly, children and people
with Alzheimer's and related mental disorders, it is an issue
that Project Lifesaver, as an independent non-profit agency,
needs to address.
We
professionals who search for and rescue wandering individuals
base our efforts on three key factors:
1.
A missing or wandering person with Alzheimer’s or related
disorder represents a critical emergency.
2.
That person is unaware of their situation, unaware they are
lost,
and will make no effort to be found.
3.
If that person is not found within 24 hours, there is a
nearly 50%
chance that person will die.
These factors must guide law enforcement, public safety,
community service organizations as well as health care
facilities in their choice of technology to meet the growing
challenge of the missing and wandering.
Among the many issues surrounding the available technologies
to locate the missing and wandering, there is no dispute that
the system must be
reliable, responsive, practical and affordable.
This is where the questions about GPS systems begin:
The
question of
reliability:
A
major provider of a GPS system, as quoted above states:
“anything that can block sunlight can block GPS signals”.
This raises the question of whether or not GPS is reliable in
locating a missing and wandering person who may be in, or next
to a building, under a tree, in the brush, under a bridge, in
a vehicle or even a person who has fallen down and has their
GPS unit covered by their own body.
These GPS systems are dependent on the reliability of battery
power, AC power, computers, internet connections, standard
telephone service, cell phone service and the skill level of
their operators in order to locate and rescue the missing and
wandering. This raises the question of whether or not any
failure in any one of these components can mean a total
failure of the entire system.
The
question of
responsiveness:
As
stated in the previous paragraph,
GPS-based systems
rely on a chain of people and equipment in order to first
locate and then notify caregivers that someone is missing.
This raises the questions of how the notification would be
relayed, will the proper equipment be available and
functioning, who would send and who would receive the
notification, and finally, whether or not that person can
quickly and successfully respond to the situation -
specifically can that person be ready and able to
immediately go out, arrive at the proper location and rescue
the missing person.
The
question of
practicality:
GPS-based systems are power-hungry and usually require the
individual to wear auxiliary items such as pager-like
equipment. Operating power and the proper wear of the
equipment is essential for the system to function. The burden
is placed on the caregiver, family member and/or the care
facility to absolutely ensure that the battery is charged at
least three times a day, and that the equipment is worn and
positioned properly 24 hours a day. This raises a most
important question of whether all the proper procedures for
charging batteries, checking and maintaining the equipment and
it’s wear will in fact be accomplished and monitored by
caregivers 24 hours per day.
The
question of
affordability:
After all the questions raised above are answered
satisfactorily of caregivers, the final question is whether or
not the patient, family and caregivers can afford the system
and fees. Some will be able to, and other in need may not. The
financial burdens of Alzheimer’s and related disorders is
enormous. We all want these patients and families to spend
money on a system that works.
OUR POSITION
My
purpose in writing this is to make families and caregivers
aware of these questions and issues. The marketing and public
relations campaigns of the companies providing these systems
must be measured against the answers to these
questions. Lives are at risk, and we all need to evaluate the
claims made for any system.
Project Lifesaver's mission is to locate the missing and
wandering and save lives. As an independent, non-profit
organization, an important part of our work is to perform
unbiased research, testing and evaluation of new systems to
assure that we are using the best available technology.
We
at Project Lifesaver would hope that GPS could offer us an
effective, reliable technology. We, like many of you, are most
impressed with many state-of-the-art technologies employing
GPS. Most of the effectiveness associated with GPS based
systems are seen in military applications or leisure time
pursuits, but definitely not in emergency situation tracking
of humans, and certainly not in particular with Alzheimer's
patients that always tend to wander into heavy vegetation or
areas where GPS signals cannot penetrate. None of us should be ‘seduced’ by high tech. We
instead have to stop and ask the hard questions. If GPS-based
systems prove themselves to be reliable or superior to our existing
technology, we would not hesitate to recommend it and convert
our system. We are actively seeking a chance to test
and evaluate this equipment, and get answers to many of the
questions we asked above. We are still waiting for the
manufacturers to respond.
Therefore, as of this date, Project Lifesaver can only rely
on the abundance of scientific data and practical experience
pointing to the fact that safety and security of
GPS-based systems, especially coupled with cellular phone
technology, are unreliable and questionable.
At
present, we have determined that radio frequency tracking equipment in
the hands of our existing network of public safety agencies is the most reliable and
practical technology available in locating the missing and
wandering. This is why we employ the ‘tried and true’ pulse
carrier wave radio frequency technology with a simple
wristband transmitter and 30+ day battery for Project
Lifesaver. We have combined that technology with rescue teams
from the local community including Law Enforcement and Public
Safety officials to build an effective life-saving system that
has proven itself, time and again, to be reliable, responsive,
practical and affordable.
Chief Gene Saunders, Executive Director of Project Lifesaver
is also the Chief of Search and Rescue for the 43rd
Virginia Search and Rescue Company of the Chesapeake, Virginia
Sheriff’s Office. He has over 30 years in the Search and
Rescue field which includes experience with GPS systems. He
also has extensive experience in leadership positions with
military and law enforcement special operations.
|
