July 14, 2006
Could RFID Transponders Be Used For VoIP e911 Caller Verification?
If you've been following our sister publication, RFID Gazette, you'll know about a new type of RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag called RuBee with IP addressing capabilities. This means that if an SED (Service-Enabled Device) is equipped with a RuBee tag, it could be accessed via the Internet. This could be a potential solution for the VoIP e911 problem.
SEDs could be any networked device, including a digital camera, digital toaster, digital lighting system, etc., which can communicate with each other, based on predefined roles. What this also means is that if a transponder with a RuBee tag were devised, it could potentially be used as a means of directing and responding to VoIP-based e911 emergency calls.
Now this is pure speculation, and there are still a lot of technical issues that have to be solved. For example, RuBee-based transponders would have to be stationary and thus not attached to VoIP phones or to any mobile device such as a laptop or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). However, any device used to make a VoIP call would have a RuBee tag to transmit emergency status to the nearest transponder. The transponder would be designed to route the call appropriately.
This means
that each transponder would have to be geocoded, possibly in sync to a
postal/ zip code grid. Alternately, in cities with Municipal Wi-Fi,
e911 transponders could be integrated wherever signal boosters are
installed. That at least helps narrow down where a call is coming from,
even from a VoWiFi phone. Finally, household or neighborhood
transponders could also be made available, for those interested. Of
course, in the latter case, you wouldn't want the transponder
accessible to just anyone over the Internet. Just speculating.
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