DHS Taps Industry, Alabama to Explore New First Responder Technology

The Department of Homeland Security, along with several companies, will be testing new technologies that will help enhance the capabilities of emergency responders during a local demonstration affiliated with the agency’s Next Generation First Responder program.

During the Birmingham Shaken Fury Operational Experimentation demonstration, industry partners and local agencies in Alabama will gather to support responder technology modernization, DHS announced Monday.

The DHS Science and Technology Directorate will lead the NGFR technology exhibition on August 19 to 23, which will involve a simulated earthquake causing partial structural collapse and a chemical leak.

Throughout the event, S&T and partner companies will assess how new DHS-built and commercial technologies can be incorporated into current public safety protocol to improve responder operations, communications, coordination, safety and situational awareness.

Drones, simulation tools, sensors, situational awareness tools are among the technologies that will be tested during NGFR OpEx.

The companies helping S&T under cooperative research and development agreements are:

• AT&T

• BodyWorn

• CommandWear Systems

• Easy Aerial

• Field Forensics

• FireHUD

• Five Vital Signs

• Image Insight

• Kratos Defense and Security Solutions

• Metronome Software

• MobileIron

• Modern Technology Solutions

• N5 Sensors

• NC4 Public Sector

• PAR Government Systems Corporation

• Project OWL

• Regal Decision Systems

• Robotic Research

• SensorUp

• Silvus Technologies

• Sonim Technologies

• SpectraRep

• Spectronn

• TRX Systems

• Tyto Athene

• University of Alabama in Huntsville