News NetMotion, Cradlepoint announce technology alliance 22nd July 2019 NetMotion and Cradlepoint today announced a technology alliance that is designed to ensure that the companies’ complementary software and hardware products can work well together and that user agencies receive consistent input about best practices for implementing solutions to support broadband communications. NetMotion CEO Christopher Kennessey said that the alliance is a natural step, because […]
NYU Wireless: Marco Mezzavilla outlines public-safety benefits of 60 GHz comms, particularly with drones 22nd July 2019 Marco Mezzavilla, a research scientist at New York University (NYU) Wireless, explains how public-safety agencies could leverage 60 GHz unlicensed spectrum to deliver multiple-gigabits-per-second data speeds. One primary use case would be to enable real-time video streaming from aerial drones over one-mile links that could support a daisy-chain architecture to increase the total effective […]
Video NIST: Fabio da Silva showcases prototype solution to locate victims, first responders in buildings 19th July 2019 Fabio da Silva, staff scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, describes the features of a prototype deployable solution that is being developed to help locate people–for example, firefighters or the people they are trying to save during an incident–inside of a building by using ultrawideband (UWB) radar transmitted from just outside […]
Video Haply Robotics: Felix Desourdy outlines potential benefits of haptics to first responders 19th July 2019 Felix Desourdy, lead mechanical engineer for Haply Robotics, explains how haptics technology–the use of solutions that communicate via the sense of touch and motion–could be used to deliver messaging to first responders under stress, when their visual and hearing senses may be overwhelmed. At the PSCR Public Safety Broadband Stakeholders Meeting in Chicago, Haply […]
News Rural Colorado sheriff’s department uses Samsung, Visual Labs, FirstNet to provide an affordable body-cam solution 19th July 2019 Body-camera video has become an important—and sometimes expensive—tool for law-enforcement agencies in recent years, but a Colorado sheriff says he is leveraging Samsung smartphones, FirstNet connectivity and Visual Labs’ video platform to deliver an effective and affordable video solution for his rural department. Sheriff Tom Ridnour of Kit Carson County, Colo., said that some personnel […]
Video Univ. of Michigan: Hun-Seok Kim describes approach to low-cost, high-accuracy location solution 15th July 2019 Hun-Seok Kim, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan, outlines the progress his team has made to develop an “infrastructure-light” location solution that is designed to leverage 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz Wi-Fi signals to deliver location data that is accurate within 10 centimeters. Kim spoke with IWCE’s Urgent […]
Video Univ. of Memphis: Lan Wang explains how LiDAR-based 3D mapping could work for public safety 15th July 2019 Lan Wang, chairwoman of the University of Memphis computer-science department, explains how LiDAR technology can be used to quickly build 3D maps of indoor locations that first responders can use to navigate unfamiliar facilities, even when visibility is impaired by smoke. Wang spoke with IWCE’s Urgent Communications Editor Donny Jackson last week during the […]
News Motorola Solutions buys WatchGuard for mobile video solutions 12th July 2019 Motorola Solutions yesterday announced that it has acquired WatchGuard, a provider of mobile video solutions such as in-car video systems, body-worn cameras and evidence-management systems and software. A Motorola Solutions spokesperson today confirmed that the deal is complete. Because WatchGuard was a private company, the transaction is not subject to shareholder approvals or regulatory reviews […]
Video Texas A&M: Suman Bhunia showcases LTE-network backpack, components of DistressNet-NG architecture 12th July 2019 Suman Bhunia of Texas A&M University highlights the features of an LTE backpack–containing an LTE core and eNodeB base station–in development that could be carried by public-safety personnel into an area that lacks traditional network coverage. The backpack is a key piece to the DistressNet-NG architecture that also plans to leverage direct-mode communications, relay […]
Video George Washington University: Chen Shen demonstrates application to optimize placement of mobile base stations 10th July 2019 Chen Shen, a student at George Washington University, explains and demonstrates how an algorithm-powered application could help locate mobile base stations–for example, cells on wheels (COWS) and aerial drones carrying LTE base stations–in a coordinated manner to maximize coverage for first responders operating in an area lacking normal terrestrial coverage. Shen and other members […]
Land mobile radio (LMR) systems are just as vulnerable to cyberattacks as any other networks used in the public-safety sector. Here’s what to do about it. 1 7th November 2023
