Emergency response to large-scale disasters is often supported with multimedia from social media. However, while these features are common in everyday video calls, the complex needs of 911 and other systems make it difficult to directly incorporate these features. We assess an ME911 (Multimedia-Enabled 911) app to understand how the design will need to deviate from common norms and how callers will respond to those non-standard choices. We expand the role of 911 call taker control over emergency situations to the calling interface while incorporating key features like map-based location finding. Participants' experiences in mock emergencies show the non-standard design helps callers in the unfamiliar setting of emergency calling yet it also causes confusion and delays. We find the need for emergency-specific deviations from design norms is supported by participant feedback. We discuss how broader system changes will support callers to use these non-standard designs during emergencies.

Abstract Since late 1960's, 9-1-1 calls in North America have been answered over audio calls. However, this method of information collection can prove to be challenging as the call-taker relies on the caller and has no visual way of confirming facts. Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) is a mandated move by the Canadian government to include multimedia features like, video-calling, photo-sharing, and texting in 9-1-1 services. The focus of my thesis work is to understand how user interfaces, desktop and mobile can be designed, so that it helps 9-1-1 call-centres to transition into a future that allows multimedia handling and remote collaboration. My thesis also focuses on designing mobile user interfaces that will allow 9-1-1 callers to use their smartphones and leverage multimedia during a 9-1-1 call.

In North America, people phone the number 9-1-1 to obtain emergency services. In the near future, such services will incorporate new communication modalities such as video calling where callers can show visuals of the emergency to call takers. This information can then be shared between dispatchers and first responders such as firefighters. We conducted an exploratory study with dispatchers and firefighters to understand how 9-1-1 video call information should be shared with firefighters while enroute to an emergency and what benefits and challenges it would create. Our results show that video call information can help firefighters gain more accurate information about an emergency, provide location specifics, pre-plan strategies, and mentally prepare for the situation while traveling to it. Yet there are design tensions around what and how much information should be shared with firefighters by dispatchers, and, in turn, what video information is shown to firefighter crewmembers.

In the future, emergency calls to the number 911 in North America will include the ability to make video calls with 911 call centers yet little is known about how to design such technologies, so they map to people’s real emergency needs. We explore this design space by investigating systems that can allow 911 callers to stream a surreptitious video call of an assailant. This paper explores a specific scenario where the person trapped may not be in direct danger from the assailant but is still present in the vicinity. We introduce ‘Covert-Glass’, technology enhanced glasses that aid callers to conduct a surreptitious 911 video call. The glasses guide a person to control the direction of his/her phone camera based on the 911 operator’s input. 911 call takers send remote signals to the user’s device and these appear as haptic vibrations on either side of the glasses.