The first Responder will be… a Robot

6 October, 2017

Mantaro and Beeper develop a robot with high-bandwidth connectivity to enable media-rich information exchange between autonomous robots and first responder teams

Mantaro Robot

Mantaro Networks from Germantown, Maryland and Beeper Communications Israel have received a $900K funding from The BIRD Foundation for the development of their Unmanned Search and Rescue Systems (USRS). The total cost of the project is expected to reach $1.8 Million. The two companies proposed a new methods and algorithms for distributed-decentralised command and control of First responder teams and autonomous robots, based on communication infrastructure setup by Beeper. This high-bandwidth connectivity will enable easily exchange media-rich information with first responders teams at field and autonomous robots for remote monitoring of incident landscape in real time and FR progress status.

In September 2017, the Mantaro UGV robot has become fully functional and operable using the Beeper cellular bonder as the only means of network communication. It means that it can be controlled and operated without the usual “line of site” requirements – The system can be operated and monitored from anywhere. “This is a real advantage when thinking about the safety of a UGV operator”, Said Jeremy Parsons, CEO Mantaro. “We have proven an ability of removing first responder personnel from harms way during uncertain and challenging situations.”

Geo Location Algorithm

Mantaro and Beeper have also entered into a commercial agreement with Safety Dynamics who specializes in gunshot detection, camera and acoustic surveillance and other warning systems, to use its acoustic algorithms for precise location identification with plus/minus 1 degree of accuracy. Alert and notification is delivered directly to the user . The system immediately geo-locates the event (within in less than 1 second) and sends an alert to the user’s command center or Network Operations Center (NOC.).

Dr. Eitan Yudilevich, Executive Director of the BIRD Foundation, said that Mantaro Networks and Beeper Communications were selected to participate in the NextGen First Responders program which was established by the DHS and the Israel Ministry of Public Security.

According to a new market research published by Research and Markets, the Telepresence Robot Device markets totaled about $1.4 billion in 2016, and is anticipated to reach $8 billion by 2023 as next generation robotic devices, systems, and instruments are introduced to manage remote presence. “The robotic platform will be extended to include grippers and cameras of all types, sensors and sophisticated navigation software.”

 

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Posted in: Aerospace & Defense , News