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Every emergency response depends on several connected steps. The right information must be captured, an incident must be assessed, the most suitable responder must be dispatched, and that responder must be able to reach the scene with the context they need.
During the first six months of 2026, we focused on improving these critical stages of the journey across both security and medical response.
The updates span three areas of the AURA platform: the tools responders use in the field, the systems customers and partners use to manage secure access, and the tools installers and dealers use to activate and manage properties.
The AURA responder app was rebuilt to give responders faster access to the information they need and more control during an incident. Every screen was reviewed with active responders to simplify the experience and reduce their reliance on control room support.
What that looks like in practice:
For medical responders, the same release carries clinical context: colour-coded triage priority, the required level of care shown before a callout is accepted, and critical patient information available on arrival.
These changes reduce unnecessary administration for responders and allow control room teams to focus on active incidents and escalations.
The second change to the responder experience is the navigation upgrade. Developed with Google Maps Platform, AURA is the first authorised emergency response platform to integrate Google Maps Platform navigation directly into its responder app. The feature is currently being rolled out across South Africa, Kenya, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Previously, the ETA shown at dispatch and the route followed by the responder could come from different systems. While they usually aligned, traffic, road closures and local routing conditions could create discrepancies. This meant the person waiting for help might see one arrival time while the responder was working from another.
As Grant Macwilliam, Chief Technology Officer at AURA, puts it:
"The product challenge here comes down to consistency. Our goal around bringing this update to our platform was to introduce a single source of truth that we can really trust."
Routing, navigation, ETA calculation and live response visibility now run on one mapping engine. Responders get embedded turn-by-turn navigation inside the app they already use, with live traffic and seamless rerouting, and without leaving their workflow.
That has different value depending on where you sit:
As Grant says:
"Everyone sharing one picture, coordination becomes faster. In our world, coordination means help arrives sooner."
One thing that did not change: all dispatch telemetry and responder position data stays inside AURA's own secure environment. Navigation got better without customer trip data or incident detail leaving the closed loop.
Keeping people safe also means protecting the systems and information that support every response. This year, AURA strengthened account security across its customer platform, control centre and supplier portals.
Each account is now linked to a verified email address belonging to the individual user. New users create their own password through a secure invitation link, ensuring that login credentials remain personal and are not shared. Users can also recover access independently, while regular password resets add another layer of protection.
Verified email addresses also create the foundation for future capabilities such as single sign-on and make it easier for AURA to contact the right person when action is required.
The principle is simple: everyone involved in the response chain should be verified, reachable and responsible for their own access.
What that changes:
Existing accounts are being moved to the updated standard through prompts within the platform. Users who have not yet verified their email address should do so when they next log in.
Responders who sign in with a mobile number and one-time PIN are unaffected.
The newest update addresses a critical gap between installing security hardware and activating physical response. Previously, the hardware could be installed while the paperwork and site setup were still being completed. During that delay, customers might believe their property was fully protected when physical response had not yet been activated.
The mobile site capture tool lets a technician or salesperson register and activate a location from the customer's doorstep, on a phone, in minutes. It runs in the browser; there is no app to install.
In one pass, a field team can:
The moment it is submitted, it is live in the portal and dispatch-ready. Role-based logins mean field staff see the capture tool and nothing else; commercial dashboards stay with management.
AURA also introduced site classification within the site-capture tool.
Every site is now described by two linked fields in the Location details panel.
This matters because different properties require different response instructions.
A responder attending a shopping centre needs different access information and tasks from someone attending a gated community or mobile tower.
Classification allows customers and monitoring centres to create more relevant task lists, provide better site context and report on response activity by property type.
For organisations managing large or mixed portfolios, this creates a more structured view of the locations they protect.
AURA launched its Installer & Dealer Programme this year in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The logic is straightforward. Installers, dealers and integrators hold the customer relationship and the hardware. Monitoring partners hold the signal.
What has historically been missing is a guaranteed physical response.
The programme adds that layer without asking anyone to change how they operate:
Onboarding is a three-step digital process: Intake form, partner agreement, portal access. After which administrators can immediately create logins for technicians and sales staff and start loading sites.
At AURA, we are constantly improving our technology to make emergency response faster, more connected and more effective — helping us move closer to our goal of making the world a safer place.
These latest product updates strengthen every stage of the response journey. Installers can capture, classify and activate a property while they are still on site. Customer platform access is tied to verified users. When an incident occurs, responders receive clearer information, navigate using live traffic data and manage more of the response directly through the app.
Together, these improvements remove delays, reduce manual administration and give the people managing a response better information when it matters most.
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