The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) recently worked with IIT Professor Carol Davids and ITM students to test 911 emergency services at IIT’s Real-Time Communications Lab.

In the left picture, IIT students Michal Siuty and Kbrom Tewoldu work with IIT Mentor Joe Cusimano, NENA ICE-5 Participants and representatives as they test the 911 emergency service. The NENA event was held at IIT’s Real-Time Communications Lab at the Rice Campus in Wheaton Illinois. More than 50 vendors and NENA representatives gathered to test the interoperability of the vendors’ products which support an all-IP backbone for the delivery of Emergency 911 services, and in particular support their use by the hearing impaired community.

In the right picture, Professor Carol Davids looks on as NENA representatives and NENA ICE-5 participants demonstrate how the Emergency Services IP Network (ESInet) supports voice and video calls and text messages to Pubic Service Access Point (PSAP) call takers. In this photo, hearing-impaired callers and their American Sign Language interpreters use the video capabilities of the system as well as the text function to complete an emergency call.

NENA serves the public safety community as the only professional organization solely focused on 9-1-1 policy, technology, operations, and education issues. With more than 7,000 members in 48 chapters across North America and around the globe, NENA promotes the implementation and awareness of 9-1-1 and international three-digit emergency communications systems.

NENA works with public policy leaders; emergency services and telecommunications industry partners; like-minded public safety associations; and other stakeholder groups to develop and carry out critical programs and initiatives; to facilitate the creation of an IP-based Next Generation 9-1-1 system; and to establish industry leading standards, training, and certifications.