> When we get an emergency call, the dispatcher gives us the address. We
> installed the Nuvi units thinking we could quickly punch in the
> address and get directions. Not that easy.

What you might want would be having the address, WITH coordinates,
automatically entered into the Garmin.
Give the "car" itself a pager unit, and have the dispatcher send
information WITH position this way right into the cars Garmin.

In taxa, fire, police, transport kind of "business", this is "fleet
functionality". Just add one cable and some software.

For my company, I have made following interGATE interface:
Commercial page: http://www.innovative.dk/en/intergate.html
It will talk to the Garmin using a standard "Garmin Fleet Cable", and
get data from GSM network (build in), Tetra radios and pagers, other
serial driven systems, and also SMS on GSM system.
Only requirement to have ready is some free text like Who,What,Where,
and then the gps position (lat,lon).

If you can program the Fleet yourself, you only need the Fleet cable.
Or go to www.garmin.com and just search for "fleet".
First shown link is http://www8.garmin.com/solutions/pnd/partners.jsp
where my company (IBS) is somewhere there amongst many others.

In Denmark (as example :-) the 112 (911) operator has already located
the position right out of the databases, based on the interview. This
lat,lon information is then always send along with the rest of the
dispatch message, so any dispatcher needing it can use it, and
eventually leaving you out of the typing business.

Christen Fihl

This is for a different Garmin model, but the last section lists steps
to input an emergency destination that might work on other models:

http://www.norfolkfire.org/minutes/m.../GarminGPS.pdf

This is Norfolk, Connecticut. Contact info:

http://www.norfolkfire.org/?q=contact


Garmin appears to offer some access to their inner workings, if you
have a fearless programmer:

http://developer.garmin.com/

http://developer.garmin.com/web-devi...icator-plugin/

http://developer.garmin.com/web-devi...upport-matrix/

http://developer.garmin.com/web-device/device-sdk/

Every page has the same disclaimer:

"In addition, no developer support will be provided by Garmin
concerning the information contained within the documentation or
implementation of this information within your software application."

Here's a NY fireman who claims to be using an iPad based system:

http://www.firehouse.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120869

Perhaps reacting to this:

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011...ambulances-gps

"City ambulances have had GPS since 2005, installed by Motorola at a
cost of $10,000 per ambulance and dubbed the Automatic Vehicle
Locator.

It lets the Fire Department know where its 236 ambulances are at any
given moment - and city officials say it's cut 30-plus seconds off
response time since being installed.

But it doesn't help the driver navigate the streets and some rank-and-
file say that's an upgrade they need.

.. . . Ambulance crews are assigned jobs through a small computer that
gives the address of a 911 call and a few lines about the nature of
the illness or injury - but no directions on how to get there.

.. . . one EMT said 'I bring my own GPS system from my car, but you can
only use that on nonemergencies because it takes too long to punch in
the information.' "

So the city slickers have similar issues.

The city of Colorado Springs has implemented a system that appears to
do most of the work at the base station, and links destination and
route info to the mobile unit. Also changes traffic signals along the
way. Of course, this was done before the housing bubble burst.

http://proceedings.esri.com/library/...s/pap_1566.pdf

On 2011-08-11 21:48 , Ed M. wrote:

> http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011...ambulances-gps
>
> "City ambulances have had GPS since 2005, installed by Motorola at a
> cost of $10,000 per ambulance and dubbed the Automatic Vehicle
> Locator.
>
> It lets the Fire Department know where its 236 ambulances are at any
> given moment - and city officials say it's cut 30-plus seconds off
> response time since being installed.
>
> But it doesn't help the driver navigate the streets and some rank-and-
> file say that's an upgrade they need.
>
> . . . Ambulance crews are assigned jobs through a small computer that
> gives the address of a 911 call and a few lines about the nature of
> the illness or injury - but no directions on how to get there.

Motorola underwhelm again and at a premium price. No surprise. It's
this lack of vision that have virtually killed them in cell phones.

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