Software that saves lives

Hertfordshire University and Extent Software are developing software dubbed Collaborator that will allow the police and emergency services to share and update incident information more effectively.

Dr Guy Saward at the university’s School of Computer Science is working with Chris Pine at Extent Software to develop the pilot software.

‘In the past, government systems could not share information with one another,’ said Pine. ‘Collaborator will allow these agencies to share information which will be updated automatically across the board.’

The software is being trialled with Gloucestershire Police, where Hertfordshire University associate Ruoyu Wo will spend six months refining it.

The deployment of Collaborator is being supported through a Knowledge Partners East of England (KEEP) project, funded by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), which is a three-way partnership between a business, a local university and a recent graduate.

According to Hertfordshire University, one of the most significant aspects of the project is the vast time savings it will incur, since information need only be inputted once and a simple touch of a button will ensure that the collaborating agency, such as the Highways Agency, will receive all of the information necessary to provide an efficient incident response, removing the need for voice communication.

‘This is a new modern approach for integrating applications based on XML technologies which will allow these life-saving agencies to communicate in a more effective manner,’ said Dr Saward.