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DARPA’s FLASH Program Leverages Persistant Close Air Support Development To Aid Hotshot Firefighters

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014

The Defense Advanced research Project Agency funds a wide variety of tech development programs but rarely does the capability developed for one end up changing the lives of a completely different profession. This is the case when capabilities identified during the Persistent Close Air Support program were used for the Fire Line Advanced Situational Awareness for Handhelds (FLASH) program to aid firefighters.

FLASH utilizes tablet computers, aircraft-mounted sensors and radios to link everything together. It is designed to identify the location of every firefighter and firefighting aircraft in expansive fire zones. The system overlays multiple streams of information visually via a tablet to each firefighter and the fire command post onto a digital map.

The results of a recent 3-day exercise were promising. Much like on a modern battlefield, firefighters on the ground and controllers in a command post in Prescott, Arizona as well as observers in Virginia had access to the same information. It increased situational awareness and personnel accountability. Both are critical to successful firefighting. In fact, the exercise took place not far from where 19 firefighters from the Prescott Fire Department’s Granite Mountain Hot Shots unit gave their lives just one year ago on June 30, 2013, battling the Yarnell Hill wildfire.

Not only does the FLASH technology increase the safety for firefighters but it also helped them find fires more quickly. But that advantage doesn’t stop there. They also ran a separate but related demonstration of search and rescue for an injured hiker. Triangulating from the person’s 911 call, the FLASH-equipped team found the person within 15 minutes. Normally, this can take hours or even days.

According to DARPA, several performers participated and made the demonstration and training possible:

-Persistent Systems LLC developed the tactical radio
-Juggernaut Defense developed the case for the tablet, radio/tablet cabling and vest to hold the equipment
-AvWatch provided the aircraft with mounted sensors for the training
-The Digital Precision Strike Suite team from Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake, California, provided the FLASH software and integrated the various systems

In fact, the Prescott Fire Department continues to use the equipment and DARPA is developing training materials.

Thanks to Juggernaut Defense for the heads up and the photos!

Tags: DARPA, Juggernaut Defense
Posted in Digitization | 12 Comments »

SOFIC 2014 – Physical Optics Corporation – Tactical Flex Display Unit

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Called SITA by its creator Physical Optics Corp, the Tactical Flex Display Unit is offered in a couple of different sizes. It’s currently greyscale and sunlight readable as well as compatible with NVGs. They’re working on a color version that will also be sunlight readable. Below, you can see a couple of mockups.

SITA runs on Android OS and offers a certain amount of inherent functionality along with the ability to serve as a I/O peripheral for other devices. Currently using a commercial mapping software, they are working on the integration of NGA digital mapping products (raster and vector), SITA can be used as an autonomous Blue Force Tracker. POC pairs SITA with a digital GPS Receiver and commercial satellite tracker/text messenger Track24 to offer BFT services as well as sat text messaging.

Tags: Physical Optics Corp, SOFIC 2014
Posted in Digitization, SOFIC | 3 Comments »

SOFIC 2014 – Pelican VITAL-Case

Thursday, May 22nd, 2014

pelican’s VITAL-Case Solution is a new intelligent case that holds up to 50 M4/M16 weapons.

When weapons are RFID chipped, the case facilitates GPS tracking of each weapon through a software interface. It will also tell you if a weapon has been removed from the case.

This same technology can also be used to ship narcotics or other controlled substances.

Tracking Technology by www.VerdaSee.com with storage technology by www.pelican.com

Tags: Pelican, SOFIC 2014
Posted in Digitization, Medical, SOFIC, weapons | Comments Off on SOFIC 2014 – Pelican VITAL-Case

SOFIC 2014 – BAE Systems SPS Preview

Thursday, May 22nd, 2014

BAE Systems shared two technologies that they’ve put forward for the US Army’s Soldier Protection System program.

The first technology is ISSS or the Integrated Soldier Sensor System. Based on their HEADs technology (Headborne Energy Analysis and Diagnostic System) which helps measure the forces that can lead to traumatic head injuries, ISSS incorporates external pressure sensors based on the DARPA blast gauge, physiological stats monitor for heart and breathing rate as well as skin temp and inactivity. All of this feeds into a Soldier Display. There is also a data retrieval system similar to HEADS that allows the data to be interrogated post mission. It can then be interpolated to help better diagnose Soldier injuries.

The second technology is the SPS Vital Torso Protection or VTP. Consisting of four different plates, X-SAPI and E-SAPI toros as well as side plates. BAE Systems have delivered over 1.25 million armor plates to DoD beginning with the original Small Arms Protective Insert program back in the late 90s.

www.baesystems.com

Tags: BAE Systems, SOFIC 2014
Posted in Armor, Digitization, Sensors, SOFIC | 2 Comments »

Juggernaut Defense – GALAXY S4 Juggernaut Case And Armor Mount

Monday, March 31st, 2014

Juggernaut Defense has just made available their Juggernaut Case and Armor Mount for the Samsung GALAXY S4, along with the Galaxy S-III.

The Juggernaut Case is a military grade rugged wearable case and mount for mobile devices designed to allow users to bring their smartphones to the field to enhance communication capabilities. The case itself is waterproof, dustproof, and shock and drop proof. It features hardened anti-glare glass screen protection, and offers quick device insertion and removal. Available mounts for the Juggernaut Case includes sternum-strap and MOLLE/PALS chest straps, a forearm mount, and a back pack mount that attaches to any backpack shoulder strap in a vertical position.

www.juggernautcase.com

Tags: Juggernaut Defense
Posted in Digitization | 11 Comments »

Revolvr App Now Available For Download On Google Play

Tuesday, February 11th, 2014

The Revolvr mobile commerce app has been approved on the Google Play store and is now available for download. The iOS app is soon to follow.

revolvr.com

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.revolvr

Tags: Revolvr
Posted in Digitization, Industry | 1 Comment »

Iridium Go! Hotspot Offers Internet Access In The Backcountry

Friday, February 7th, 2014

Although it offers data transfer speeds out of the 90s, the Iridium Go! hotspot’s 2.4 kbps beats what you’ve got right now in the back country which is generally bupkiss. And by back country, I don’t just mean the American wilderness; Iridium is used worldwide. For many years the military and other specialized users have relied on data transfer via Iridium satellite phones but the company has not offered a purpose built, commercialized hotspot until now. Granted, there’s a Thuraya device out there that some of you may be familiar with but coverage is limited, whereas Iridium is worldwide (land and sea). Go! will allow you to connect up to 5 wireless devices to a 30.5-meter (100 foot) radius hotspot. While internet access might seem painfully slow, that text and email functionality you’ve never had will be great. Sending photos will be possible but you’ll have to learn to live with low res chips and not high def panoramas. You can also use it to make calls and the Go! has built-in SOS and GPS modes. Even better? It’s forward compatible with Iridium Next, a satellite based network they are rolling out to increase speeds to near 3G/4G levels so web browsing you’re used to at home is coming.

Measuring 114 x 83 x 32 mm (4.5 x 3.25 x 1.25 in) and weighing in at 295 g (10.4 oz) the Go! charges via microUSB, and can connect to up to five mobile devices at a time. To turn it on, flip up the antenna and connect your device via the Iridium Go app on your smartphone or tablet available for both iOS and Android. The Go! also boasts MIL-STD 810F ruggedness.

Coming fall, 2014.

www.iridium.com

Tags: Iridium
Posted in Comms, Digitization | 5 Comments »

Revolvr – A Revolutionary New M-Commerce App In The Firearms Industry

Wednesday, February 5th, 2014

Revolvr is a firearm accessory peer to peer exchange that was founded by the entrepreneurs behind Rainier Arms, Defense Marketing Group, and the newly announced PayMeBaby platform that drives the PistolPay payment service. Today, Revolvr officially unveiled the company and its first product, the free Revolvr Android app, which is based on creating a social buying experience for firearm enthusiasts. Revolvr is the first native m-commerce application that is open to the 2A friendly community that allows individuals to freely buy and sell firearm accessories.

“Hundreds of millions of dollars are exchanged each year in the secondary firearm market, we are looking to decrease the friction of this exchange using technologies of today paired with our new partners at PistolPay, to enable safe payments between firearm enthusiasts across the United States.” said John Hwang, founder & CEO of Revolvr. “We created Revolvr so that the firearm industry can “revolve” their used firearm accessories.”

How it Works
Revolvr solves the much needed problem of person to person transactions in the firearms community. A new Revolvr user can download the application from the Google Play Store and sign up for the service and begin posting their new or used parts & accessories in the mobile application. “We wanted to create a mobile first experience with Revolvr which is why we didn’t start with a website commerce site” said Tony Bristol, founder & Chief Product Officer of Revolvr. “Eventually we will have a website, though we didn’t want it to drive our design or user experience in the mobile centric society we operate in today’s world.” Revolvr will bring together firearm enthusiasts from across the United States to exchange their valued items in a safe and secure way. Revolvr takes a small fee of each sale to cover credit card transaction fees as well as continued investment into the Revolvr app development.
Revolvr is integrated with the latest social tools like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter to share items easily with user’s social networks. Revolvr also leverages the PistolPay payment service which is the only 2A friendly peer-to-peer payment service in the market, combining the security PCI compliance with the safety of an escrow solution.

The Team
Revolvr was founded in August, 2013 by a team of firearm innovators and a mobile application pioneer: John Hwang and Paul Hwang of Rainier Arms and Tony Bristol, previously with Microsoft; and for the last 6 years, an executive and founder of multiple mobile startups.
“For several years our industry has been discriminated against by large ecommerce and payment solutions. Revolvr brings together the latest mobile technologies leveraging Tony’s experience in the technology and mobile startup ecosystem with Paul and my grassroots knowledge of the firearms industry, to deliver a product that truly serves our industry.” said John Hwang, Rainier Arms CEO and firearms marketing guru.

About Revolvr
Revolvr is a mobile firearm accessory marketplace built around the mobile social experience. Firearm enthusiasts are able to quickly post their accessories and buy new or used items right from their phones. Revolvr’s 2A friendly community brings firearm enthusiast together to share their individual collections, allowing open commerce for a community underserved by the newest technologies. Founded in August of 2013, Revolvr is headquartered in Auburn, WA. For more information, please visit www.revolvr.com. Revolvr’s free Android App can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.

This looks like a really cool app. Unfortunately, it’s not yet available for iOS, although according to the Revolvr website it’s coming soon.

Tags: Revolvr
Posted in Digitization, Industry | 6 Comments »