The Atus Defender service is a lone worker solution, designed to give lone workers or those who are vulnerable or at risk, the ability to quickly and simply raise an alarm and summon assistance. The Defender App is linked through an ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre) so that the user’s situation can be monitored and help quickly sent directly to them in the event of an emergency.

To be able to use the Atus Defender service, the user needs to have an account on the server where they will have registered their details on their profile response page. The ARC will know what pre-defined actions should be performed from that profile in the event that an alarm is triggered.

An alarm can be activated from the App screen by pressing the alarm button for 2 seconds, by using the App’s dead-man alarm button which triggers upon release, or triggered separately from the Defender Remote (optional) if the user has one for use with the Defender App.

Once an alarm has been activated then the smartphone transmits the user’s location to the ARC response centre, as well as simultaneously initiating a phone call. The users alarm information is then combined with their previously defined profile response data held on the server, so that the ARC receives as accurate a picture as possible about the user, their situation and what measures need to be taken to assist them.

To aid the recue team or emergency services to locate the user, continued updates as well as a history of previous locations are provided to the ARC whilst the alarm is active. If the user is within range of one of their indoor Defender Beacons (optional), then the server will also display the location beacon information as well as the GPS location, to enable the user to be accurately located indoors when out of range of GPS satellites.

This App uses the smartphone’s GPS functionality in the background when there is an active alarm. Continued use of GPS services running in the background can dramatically decrease the battery life of the phone.