RapidSOS uses AI to facilitate 911 responses that safeguard people & freight

The AI platform RapidSOS is changing the face of emergency responses in the United States by consolidating vast quantities of data from smart phones, cars, home security cameras, and even from radios which facilitate the job of 911 responders.

In the process, the extent of data collection also reveals the vast array of intelligence gathering that individuals are exposed to in 2026. This comes through various forms of sensors and data transmission from their smart phones, from their homes, in their cars and in the transportation of freight by rail or truck.

In the wrong hands, this type of AI data control can pose clear dangers to people and property.

In an interview with AJOT, RapidSOS President Jose Mejia said that the company’s Harmony AI platform is connected to every 911 call center in the US: “We have handled 1.2 billion emergencies … in the United States. We do about 175 million emergencies a year. The data of that emergency is intelligence. And so, … as the world has continued to change technology wise, if you think about school shootings and the cameras in those schools, the phones, the texts, all that information has gotten hooked into our data platform. And so, our net safety network platform … is, the platform where everybody hooks in. Our AI, which had been originally … machine learning … many companies talk about AI as ... beginners … We have been using some version of AI all along to try to make sense of all this data. So, our AI obviously is now evolving very rapidly … we call it Harmony.”

Jeremy Renner

The actor Jeremy Renner is a partner and investor in RapidSOS. He was personally impacted by the emergency response system when first responders saved his life in 2023, and the agencies that helped him are now RapidSOS customers.

Background

Mejia started his first company when he was 26 years old: “It was called Bay Networks, and we created routers and switches for the internet.”

Prior to joining RapidSOS, Mejia was co-founder and General Partner at Merlin Mentor Capital. He was previously President of Lucent Technologies. Mejia immigrated to the US from Venezuela at the age of 16.

Mejia said the foundation of routers and switches helped develop RapidSOS’s AI capability: “The basis of the company’s software originates from data networking…If you remember I mentioned … I was one of the people that started the company that created routers and switches for the internet. The reason why that is important is because that was the beginning of what was called data networking. Data networking is the ability to get a lot of knowledge and information about things. When we started Rapid … because our DNA comes from data networking, we created a ‘data lake.’ … AI today exists because … we were doing machine learning because it was data networking, because you could actually access data to be able to understand and make sense of that data.”

RapidSOS is a ten-year-old company: “We first started … trying to create an application for users to use in case of an emergency. And it pretty quickly evolved to how can we help 911 centers with the intelligence and the information they need when an emergency occurs … our initial wave of growth is we are the ones who bring to 911 centers and first responders the exact location of where you are when you are in an emergency. We are the ones who tell the 911 center and the first responders, if you have health issues … if there are other people with you, if there are cameras that are looking at it, or if there is a vehicle, let's say a truck. And those trucks nowadays all have sensors everywhere. The truck talks to us, tells us exactly what the situation is, say from what years the truck (is), because it is important in terms of information … issues in the truck, how to open certain doors. We have situations where the truck … or a car has gotten into an accident, and the person cannot get out of the car. And so, we typically have all the information based on the model, the year, what to do, how to do it, et cetera. So, we are the ones who bring that intelligence into the 911 centers.”

Smartphones Critical to Data Gathering

A critical ingredient in the data gathering comes from smartphones: “Anytime there is an alert or a call to 911, the moment that call happens, because of our engagement, we have a very strong relationship with Apple and with Google. And so, every Android phone, every Apple phone, the moment that 911 calls start, we immediately know that an emergency is occurring. “

That data gathering is also compiled from sensors in cameras and from sensors in vehicles: “If there is a crash, that car is … talking through those sensors, and those sensors are sending messages about the situation. And so those sensors also connect into our software. And in that map, the 911 operator is looking at …there is … an accident, it is a truck. It is located at this specific point. So, they know how to actually get to you. They … start getting information about how many people, who is the driver, what … health issues with this driver? And those are all important pieces so that we … can handle the emergency.

Radio Information

Mejia said: “One of our customers is Sirius XM … If you have a Sirius XM radio in your car, the Sirius XM … is actually sensing. And so, if there is an accident, I already have information about what is going on. So, there is many different ways in which sensors … can be connected into the platform. And so, … if people that are reading your article that … could be truck drivers for their safety, or could be the owners of trucks or logistics operators that we provide not only safety for the content: we provide safety for the automobile, we provide safety for the individuals.”

Cargo Security

RapidSOS also has contracts with railroads and trucking companies to safeguard freight, Mejia says tracking technology on or in containers can also be accessed: “Tracking technology on containers transported by rail or truck (can be) linked to the RapidSOS system … those vendors that are putting those sensors or those cameras (that) would need to connect with us so that we can provide, that intelligence. We then combine that with everything else that is going on with that emergency … If you think about when an emergency happens, there is all kinds of information coming, right? There is … people texting … all kinds of information that is going on …We take all this crazy amount of information, and we make it so that it is easy for the 911 operator and the first responder to understand what to do … Let's say … in the case of the content …. the (rail) car number … there is this type of chemicals …you need to make sure that you bring this kind of equipment. That is the kind of stuff that we provide using our software and our product.”

Improving Rail Safety and Security

Mejia says RapidSOS would provide its service for every railroad in the United States, but some have been slow to sign up; “We do not do it with every train company in the US because … we are talking to them and they take their time, but they should all be on this … When that train leaves. my system is already tracking the train. I know where it's come coming from. I know where it's supposed to go. I know if that train has slowed down or has a problem, or there is an actual 911 call, or there is a camera or there's an accident, I immediately would know.”

In fact, RapidSOS would know if there was a problem before the railroad: “I would know before anybody. And so therefore, at that moment, I can immediately notify … the same train company (saying) ‘You have a problem. The problem just occurred seconds ago. The problem is at this location with this train … with this car.’ So, the train, I can then immediately tell and advise the 911 center that is involved in that space so … the first responders will already know the type of train, the type of content, the manifest, all that information will be available.”

No Replacing Humans

Mejia insists that the RapidSOS does not replace the humans on the front line. RapidSOS’s Harmony “is an enabler to make … incredible superheroes. Our emergency operators, our first responders are superheroes. And what we do is to make them even bigger superheroes.”