IBM's Watson to Listen in on 911 Calls – MeriTalk

When people in an emergency situation call into their local 911 operations center, there might be another "brain" listening in on the call. The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International, which has more than 29,000 members, tapped IBM to bring Watson into their software. APCO recently announced that APCO International's new guide card software called APCO IntelliCommä will use IBM Watson Speech-to-Text and Watson Analytics to improve the scripts used by 911 operators. The guide card system provides guidance to 911 operators on what to ask and say to gather needed information to access specific emergency call types. Essentially, the software helps operators "provide rapid and customized instructions so callers get the fast, consistent, and appropriate information they need and expect in an emergency," according to a press release.