The United States and Israel are reportedly combining their technologies to make sure first responders have a better idea of what the emergency they’re racing toward looks like.
The United States and Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Homeland Security program is a joint initiative funded by the Department of Homeland Security’s research arm, and the Israel Ministry of Public Security, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The program gave $1.5 million in grants for a pair of projects, including a partnership between CentralSquare Technologies of Lake Mary, Fla., and Carbyne of Tel Aviv to develop real-time, multi-media emergency call communications for public safety and first responders, the news outlet reported.
Carbyne’s product converts a voice call to an emergency dispatch center into multiple streams of data that give a clearer picture of what’s unfolding on the ground, the news outlet reported.
It also lets callers use their phones to send live video — and the caller’s location becomes a viewable map so a dispatcher can get an overview of the surrounding area.
“[W]e are basically aggregating the data from the emergency call and analyzing what’s going on, and this information is being fully integrated and shared with the dispatch platform and then delivered to the first responders, and basically the forces that are going to solve the event,” Carbyne CEO Amir Elichai told the news outlet.
“So, when I’m driving to an event or driving to a big fire, I will have an ability to see what’s going on pre-arrival to the event. We’re talking about responder safety and transparency and data collaboration. This is exactly what this partnership should achieve,” he said.
Carbyne and CentralSquare had been collaborating for some 10 months prior to the grant.
“For the first time, we will be able to provide first responders with the ability to see data in their mobile device and have real-time data coming from the citizens. So, the key element will be increased responder safety,” Eliochai told the news outlet.
The other foundation grant was awarded to Sagetech Avionics of White Salmon, Wash., and Ciconia of Ness Ziona, Israel, to develop a collision-avoidance system that allows first responders to operate drones alongside manned aircraft, letting them "talk" to each other and issue a warning if the possibility of a mid-air crash is detected.
Doug Coates, Ciconia’s director of U.S. operations, told the news outlet the Airborne Collision Avoidance System that is a fixture on passenger planes is accepted by the Federal Aviation Administration, "but you can’t make it work for small aircraft and drones. It is a heavy solution that takes lots of computing power and battery power. Really small aircraft can’t do it."
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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