Dispatchable indoor location system for mobile phones based on a BlueTooth Low Energy array

This paper describes a system that provides the indoor location of an emergency 9-1-1 caller who uses a smart-phone while inside a large, multi-story building. The system consists of an Array of BlueTooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons and a Database that together provide the indoor location, and a Smartphone Application that obtains the location information and makes an IP-based call, including the indoor location information, to a Next Generation 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP.) The Array and the Database together constitute a platform that can be used by developers to create other applications that use its data. Both the platform and the smartphone application will be described. Information about the architecture of the service platform and the operations and maintenance of the array are included. Tests to determine the accuracy of the caller's location are described and their results presented. Potential additional uses for the platform are proposed.