Parks in certain parts of the city can get lonely during night hours and can cause safety concerns for people visiting the park or in transit to their destination. Park safety is therefore a critical concern for city officials who have to balance the costs associated with keeping the lights fully on all night and the safety of the park. CIMCONs "Park Safety" Mobile Application helps cities achieve the right balance between cost and safety. It allows cities to dim their lights and thereby save on energy costs during hours with few visitors but provides visitors with the ability to command lights within a 100-meter radius of their GPS location to start blinking and come to full brightness if dimmed.
An audio alert and GPS route information to the park visitor is also sent to the park/city security’s mobile phone. When park/city security staff acknowledge receipt of this request, a notification is sent back to the park visitor letting him/her know that help is on its way.
Park/city security officials responding to the alert can then select the "Route" button to obtain a map with the GPS coordinates of the location of the person seeking help, They can also get verbal directions to navigate to the designated location. Upon arrival, the security official can select the "STOP" button to return the lights to their last programmed configuration. The visitor’s request for "HELP" and its deactivation are logged for reporting purposes.
For cities, CIMCONs controllers and "Park Safety" Application are an easy way to provide widespread security at a low cost and help reduce the need to hire additional security personnel to patrol the parks.