System and method for responding to service requests and facilitating communication between relevant parties

Abstract

Various systems, methods, and computer program products for responding to service requests and facilitating communication between relevant parties are provided. The system may receive a request from a user, obtain a user location, identify a service provider such as an emergency response center based on the location, facilitate coordination of response efforts, and provide a page that is shared between various parties such as the user, contacts of the user, an operator, and a responder. The various parties may provide to the system inputs such as video to capture what is currently happening. The page may be updated with the inputs, include a status of the service request such as whether responders have been dispatched, and include a current location of the responders and other users. Using the page, various parties may obtain real-time situational awareness of an event that culminated in the service request and communicate with other users.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of responding to service requests and facilitating communication among parties related to the service request, the method being implemented in a computer that includes one or more processors, the method comprising:
 receiving, by the one or more processors, a service request from a user device;   obtaining, by the one or more processors, a location of the user device;   identifying, by the one or more processors, a service provider based on the location of the user device and the service request;   generating, by the one or more processors, a page comprising an indication of the location of the user device;   providing, by the one or more processors, the page; and   facilitating, by the one or more processors, communication between the user device and the operator device based on the provided page.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising:
 obtaining, by the one or more processors, information related to a user of the user device, the information related to the user comprising at least a residence address of the user; and   including, by the one or more processors, the information related to the user with the page.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising:
 identifying, by the one or more processors, an operator device used to dispatch one or more responders to service the service request; and   providing, by the one or more processors, the page to the operator device.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising:
 identifying, by the one or more processors, a contact device used by a contact of a user of the user device; and   providing, by the one or more processors, the page to the contact device.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising:
 receiving, by the one or more processors, information input by at least one user, the information being related to the service request;   updating, by the one or more processors, the page based on the information input by the at least one user; and   providing, by the one or more processors, the updated page.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein receiving the information input by at least one user comprises:
 receiving, by the one or more processors, video, image, or audio data from the user device that documents a scene related to the service request.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein receiving the information input by at least one user comprises:
 receiving, by the one or more processors, an indication from a responder device that the responder device is en route to service the service request.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein receiving the information input by at least one user comprises:
 receiving, by the one or more processors, an indication of a location of a responder device.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein receiving the information input by at least one user comprises:
 receiving, by the one or more processors, an indication from the operator device related to a status of servicing the service request.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing the page comprises:
 determining, by the one or more processors, at least one of two or more communication channels via which to provide at least a portion of the page, the at least one of two or more communication channels comprising a Short Message Service text message, a webpage, or a mobile application.   
     
     
         11 . A system for responding to service requests and facilitating communication among parties related to the service request, the system comprising:
 one or more processors programmed by one or more computer program modules to:
 receive a service request from a user device; 
 obtain a location of the user device; 
 identify a service provider based on the location of the user device and the service request; 
 generate a page comprising an indication of the location of the user device; 
 provide the page; and 
 facilitate communication between the user device and the operator device based on the provided page. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , the one or more processors further programmed by one or more computer program modules to:
 obtain information related to a user of the user device, the information related to the user comprising at least a residence address of the user; and   include the information related to the user with the page.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , the one or more processors further programmed by one or more computer program modules to:
 identify an operator device used to dispatch one or more responders to service the service request; and   provide the page to the operator device.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , the one or more processors further programmed by one or more computer program modules to:
 identify a contact device used by a contact of a user of the user device; and   provide the page to the contact device.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , the one or more processors further programmed by one or more computer program modules to:
 receive information input by at least one user, the information being related to the service request;   update the page based on the information input by the at least one user; and   provide the updated page.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , the one or more processors further programmed by one or more computer program modules to:
 receive video, image, or audio data from the user device that documents a scene related to the service request.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , the one or more processors further programmed by one or more computer program modules to:
 receive an indication from a responder device that the responder device is en route to service the service request.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , the one or more processors further programmed by one or more computer program modules to:
 receive an indication of a location of a responder device.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , the one or more processors further programmed by one or more computer program modules to:
 receive an indication from the operator device related to a status of servicing the service request.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , the one or more processors further programmed by one or more computer program modules to:
 determine at least one of two or more communication channels via which to provide at least a portion of the page, the at least one of two or more communication channels comprising a Short Message Service text message, a webpage, or a mobile application.   
     
     
         21 . A computer device for making a service request and communicating with relevant parties related to the service request, the mobile device comprising:
 one or more processors programmed with one or more computer program modules to:
 display a user interface comprising a selectable plurality of service request options; 
 receive a selection of at least one of the selectable plurality of service request options; 
 generate the service request based on the received selection; 
 communicate the service request to a remote device; 
 receive from the remote device, a page comprising information related to the service request and at least some information from a service provider that was identified based on a location of the user device; and 
 communicate with a service provider identified based on the received selection via the page received from the remote device. 
   
     
     
         22 . The computer device of  claim 21 , the one or more processors further programmed with the one or more computer program modules to:
 receive at least one input related to the page at the computer device;   communicate the at least one input to the remote device; and   receive, from the remote device, an updated page that includes the at least one input.   
     
     
         23 . The computer device of  claim 21 , the one or more processors further programmed with the one or more computer program modules to:
 receive video, image, or audio input at the user device that documents a scene related to the service request;   communicate the video, image, or audio input to the remote device; and   receive from the remote device an updated page that includes the video, image, or audio input.   
     
     
         24 . The computer device of  claim 21 , wherein the service request comprises an emergency request, the one or more processors further programmed with the one or more computer program modules to:
 prompt for authentication information;   receive the authentication information via the user interface; and   determine whether the authentication information was authenticated.   
     
     
         25 . The computer device of  claim 24 , the one or more processors further programmed with the one or more computer program modules to:
 route the emergency request to a emergency call center when the authentication information was not authenticated.