In 2013 BlueToque Software announced the creation of YourLo.ca/tion – a service primarily intended for Search and Rescue groups to locate missing people. In the three years since the service was launched, we have seen its use steadily increasing with many SAR teams throughout Canada and the United States making use of it to locate and verify the location of missing people, reduce the time spent searching, and decrease the person hours required.
One of the SAR teams we’ve seen making steady use of the service is Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team from east-central Kentucky. WCSART’s response area includes the Red River Gorge – an intricate canyon system with many cliffs, waterfalls, and arches, and also a very well known rock climbing area. The SAR team consists of about 30 members who conduct about 60 SAR operations per year.
Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team on a recent rescue YourLo.ca/tion was used.
If you take a quick look at their Facebook page you’ll find several examples of how they’ve been using YourLo.ca/tion in their operations. A few examples are included below.
A recent news report on how the team is using the service
Use Cases
Use YourLo.ca/tion whenever
- The missing person has cell reception
If they have voice and text they probably have data - To obtain the missing person’s location
The basic use of the service reports position - To verify a reported position
Even when the missing person says they know where they are, or have already sent their coordinates, the service can give you confirmation.
It also gives you estimated error which will tell you if their reported location is accurate - To use the Web to SMS gateway
The advance YourLo.ca/tion service provides a web page console that allows the operator to text the missing person from the web direct to their phone. The subject’s can reply and you recieve those messages. - To log SMS/Text communications
The advanced YourLo.ca/tion service logs all SMS communications in a central registry. This is important for some organizations to maintain evidence, and provides a professional, single point of contact with your organization. - To integrate with your GIS solution
YourLo.ca/tion integrates with your GIS solution ( like TrueNorth Geospatial) via GPX or KML downloads of the position data.
About YourLo.ca/tion
- YourLo.ca/tion is a service, not an app.
Apps are installed on your phone, YourLo.ca/tion is on the internet - YourLo.ca/tion does not need to be installed on your phone for it to work
Because most missing people don’t install location apps, this is by design. - YourLo.ca/tion is designed for SAR professionals to request the location of missing people
Other people may use it as well, but it was designed primarily for SAR - YourLo.ca/tion works if you have a data connection
This means there are many conditions where it doesn’t work at all. - When YourLo.ca/tion works, it gives you an estimate of the accuracy of the location
This is extremely important for users to judge whether to trust the data or not. - YourLo.ca/tion is free for basic use
This is important because most Search and Rescue groups are volunteer based - You can donate to support YouLo.ca/tion
We have fixed costs and it will help us to run the system and make improvements.
Feedback
If you have feedback on YourLo.ca/tion, you can use the form on the web site to contact us.
If you would like to contribute a use case which will help us gauge how the service is being used, and how it could be improved, please use the form at the following link:
Submit YourLo.ca/tion case study