Ottawa Infotainment Integrates H.E.L.P.® in DragonFire OS to Reduce Disabled and Vulnerable Vehicle Crashes in the U.S.

Collaboration with Emergency Safety Solutions will help accelerate adoption of life-saving roadway alerts

LAS VEGAS, NV, UNITED STATES, December 17, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Ottawa Infotainment (OI) today announced the integration of the H.E.L.P.^® (Hazard Enhanced Location Protocol) advance warning communication solution from Emergency Safety Solutions (ESS) as an optional safety package within DragonFire OS, the company’s next-generation cockpit and infotainment platform. The collaboration brings proven, life-saving technology directly into the vehicle’s native digital environment — simplifying adoption for automotive OEMs and commercial fleets while expanding access to advanced hazard-alert capabilities.

A Growing Safety Crisis on America’s Roadways

Disabled-vehicle crashes are one of the most persistent and devastating issues on U.S. roads. Every four minutes, a stopped or disabled vehicle is struck by an oncoming driver. Each year, nearly 125,000 American motorists are affected and 23,000 people are killed or injured, resulting in nearly $20 billion in societal costs. Many collisions occur during routine breakdowns — flat tires, engine stalls, roadside assistance — because approaching drivers fail to recognize the danger in time. These incidents continue to rise at a compounding rate of 8.4% annually.
The globally-patented H.E.L.P.^® solution is engineered to reduce these tragedies through highly visible lighting alerts and connected-vehicle digital notifications that warn drivers earlier and more clearly.

Bringing H.E.L.P.^® Alerts and Road Awareness Alerts Into the Digital Cockpit

DragonFire OS already features advanced visualization, hazard workflows, and safety-first UI interaction patterns. In OI’s ESS-enabled prototype, drivers can activate H.E.L.P.^® Alerts and receive real-time hazard notifications directly within their navigation experience.

The new H.E.L.P. Alerts feature builds on this foundation by making the technology pre-integrated, native, and immediately deployable for OEMs.
Solving a Long-Standing Integration Barrier

A key obstacle slowing adoption of emerging safety technologies has been the complexity and duration of OEM engineering cycles. DragonFire OS was specifically architected to remove these barriers through modular middleware and standardized interfaces designed for rapid integration of safety-critical functions.

“One of the biggest barriers to deploying essential safety technology is the sheer amount of engineering required from OEM teams,” said Sean Hazaray, CEO of Ottawa Infotainment. “DragonFire OS was built to remove that friction. By pre-integrating H.E.L.P.^® Alerts, we give automakers the ability to adopt life-saving capabilities without waiting for future vehicle cycles. Safety shouldn’t have to wait.”

Architected for Safety-Critical Performance

The integration leverages the deep safety prioritization embedded in DragonFire OS:
• High-priority alert management
• Coordination with advanced hazard-lighting protocols
• Real-time broadcast and visualization of warnings to nearby drivers

“DragonFire OS was designed from day one to be a reliable integrator of third-party safety systems,” said Jon Hacker, Chief Technology Officer at Ottawa Infotainment. “Our architecture ensures that technologies like H.E.L.P.^® operate natively, responsively, and with the performance expectations required of automotive safety applications.”

ESS evaluated multiple platform partners before selecting Ottawa Infotainment. Its decision was grounded not only in DragonFire OS’s technical sophistication but also in OI’s clear commitment to enabling next-generation roadway safety.

“What impressed us about Ottawa Infotainment is the adaptability and intelligence of their platform,” said Tim VanGothem, Chief Product Officer at ESS. “They understand that better software architecture leads to better safety outcomes. DragonFire OS offers an environment where our technology can shine, and this collaboration expands access to one of the most important safety innovations in transportation.”

Accelerating Deployment Across OEMs and Fleets

By offering H.E.L.P.^® as an optional DragonFire OS package, Ottawa Infotainment enables vehicle manufacturers and fleet operators to deploy advanced roadside-safety capabilities with dramatically reduced engineering overhead. The approach supports mass-market passenger vehicles, EV architectures, commercial fleets, and next-generation SDV (software-defined vehicle) programs.

This collaboration represents a significant milestone in accelerating the real-world adoption of connected-roadway safety technologies.

About Emergency Safety Solutions

Emergency Safety Solutions (ESS) is dedicated to eliminating preventable crashes involving disabled and stopped vehicles. ESS’s H.E.L.P.^® (Hazard Enhanced Location Protocol) technology uses intelligent lighting and connected digital alerts to dramatically improve driver awareness and reduce the likelihood of secondary crashes. H.E.L.P.^® solutions are protected by a global patent portfolio and engineered for integration across passenger vehicles, commercial fleets, and public-safety applications.

About Ottawa Infotainment

Ottawa Infotainment develops next-generation cockpit systems, consolidated compute platforms, and SDV-ready architectures for automotive OEMs and commercial fleets. The company’s flagship platform, DragonFire OS, powers infotainment, cluster, and integrated domain-controller experiences across multiple vehicle programs worldwide.

Jason Kennedy
Ottawa Infotainment
press@ottawainfotainment.com
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