Catalyst Communications Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of IP-based dispatch, interoperability and incident command solutions, announced today that patent application 18/670,784 for “COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS USING SITUATIONAL INFERENCE” has been approved. This patent award continues Catalyst’s continued drive to introduce new technologies to support mission critical communications for the public safety marketplace.

The invention implements a method whereby a communication system monitors Push-to-Talk over Broadband (PTToB) services, and, communicating with a second (or more) PTToB service, infers a community operational situation (e.g., an emerging threat to other first responders on different communications systems), based on data obtained during monitoring. The system then alerts and notifies the partner community dispatch system of a potential emerging threat.

A number of monitoring, alert and notification services are covered by the invention. For example, the notification can include meta data extracted from the communications to add relevance to the information being shared. A heat map of relevant audio keywords can be created to help dispatchers interpret the communications, and the information, inferred from the situation monitored by the system can be shared with broadband push-to-talk networks and legacy land mobile radio (LMR) systems in use by first responders today.

The technology built using this method establishes a practical, foundational application for building artificial intelligence support for the mission of public safety communications professionals. This new capability is another tool to help dispatchers and first responders on the scene of a situation interpret data based upon radio communications and provide relevant and insightful information to help understand and respond to the situation at hand and assist in their primary mission – to save lives.

In making the announcement, Catalyst President Robin Grier said “Innovation in support of the public safety marketplace is at the heart of what we do at Catalyst, and we are always pushing the envelope forward to develop improved communications for our nation’s first responders. It’s expected that artificial intelligence will have increasing applications which are extremely valuable to the public safety community, and Catalyst leads the effort to apply our technology and industry knowledge to help mission critical communications professionals by continuously improving their ability to respond to ever increasing emergencies in our changing world.”

The technology created by the invention will be incorporated in future versions of Catalyst products and solutions. While licensing plans have not been determined, inquiries from other mission critical communications service providers are welcome.