New Motorola Solutions product maps, analyzes data for emergency responders

Police receive the dispatch: “shots fired.”

Officers have an address, but to get a clearer picture of what they're walking into, cops flip open their squad car computer and pull up a map.

Suddenly, officers can learn the names and ages of people associated with the address and their “risk profile,” based on a complex algorithm mining criminal records, their web presence and other data.

It's one of the pieces of a new product, called the Intelligent Data Portal, or IDP, Motorola Solutions officially launched Thursday. The cloud-based application was introduced to industry insiders and the media at the company's Schaumburg headquarters.

Motorola executives say the software gives law enforcement a curated, real-time look at data pulled from public and private sources. The mobile access — subscribers need a password and an Internet connection — means better preparation for unfolding emergencies, its makers say. “IDP is bringing all this intelligence together,” said Ryan Seick, Motorola's project manager.

Police and fire departments can join a “supergroup” and share agency-specific data — the capabilities of a fire truck, for instance — with each other for an extended period or ahead of a major event like the Chicago Marathon. That translates into regional coordination even if agencies use different dispatching systems, Seick said.

Acknowledging concerns about security, Seick said Motorola encrypts information at the level of online banking transactions.

AccuWeather is one of five vendors to get behind the technology. Users can track local conditions through live radar and receive National Weather Service alerts. It also provides a window into a hurricane's projected path and storm surge, said Casey McGeever, the Pennsylvania company's chief commercial officer.

“Think how important that would have been in a Katrina or Superstorm Sandy scenario,” McGeever said. “It's all there for the first responders.”

Another feature from Massachusetts-based Blueforce Development maps chemical or environmental hazards (think seismic activity) picked up by sensors worn on officers or firefighters.

Users open the portal by logging into a weblink on their PC, smartphone or tablet. Administrators can filter layers of data, displayed across a map.

The risk profile, from Intrado, a subsidiary of West Corporation, is geared toward police responding to the high-anxiety 911 calls, said Steve Reed, Intrado's vice president.

Reed called the portal a tool protecting responders against hidden dangers.

“It's really all about officer safety,” he said.