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Raytheon launches Quad Cities interoperability pilot
$2 million test project will link up emergency responders in neighboring Illinois and Iowa cities; remote broadband and mobile situational awareness among the capabilities on the menu; Nortel, New Era Wireless, NexPort, DropFire, and EAGLE Project lend a hand
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IT spending for first responders to reach $4.4 billion by 2011
Government agencies report increased confidence in technology; money and guidance from the federal level is still wanting; lack of coordination betweem agencies remains a major challenge
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Buffalo researchers to examine emergency response under pressure
University scientists to see if firemen and EMTs perform better or worse when they know their families are in danger; discriminating 2006 snowstorm provides a useful control group
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Camero "through-wall vision" technology earns $14 million in funding
Israeli company sells $1 milliion in product in only four months of prototype sales; RF signals generate 3D images from behind concrete, wood, and cement; military forces snatch up available models, but company sees a large market among emergency responders; smaller model for search and rescue in development
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Analysts see coming boom in municipal interoperability gear
Coming on the heels of a DHS report showing two-thirds of states and municipalities are underprepared, Datamonitor survey finds an expected spending increase of 40 percent over five years
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DHS releases 2007 state and municipal grant funding levels
Urban Areas Security Initiative and Citizen Corps Program receive mild funding boosts; other programs see minor losses; DHS gives risk assessment the old college try
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SAIC wins $53 million deal to move WMD models on-line
Integrated Weapons of Mass Destruction Toolset has been in development since 2004; moving on-line critical to dispersing data to first responders; physics-based models assess terrain, wind patterns, and other factors
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China announces new emergency operations command center
At a cost of hundreds of million of yuan, the new Beijing-based center will coordinate national response planning; satellites will provide constant data feeds; reorganization intended to bring order to a decentralized emergency bureaucracy; 2008 Olympics have Chinese spending freely on security
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War technology lends a hand on Mt. Hood
When T-Mobile’s pinging proves inadequate in finding missing climbers, Iomax brings in precision phone locating kit originally designed to stop IEDs; Aracar supplies rescue UAVs with Afghanistan experience
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Hybrid cars pose special risk to first responders
High voltage a major problem; Toyota responds by offering training seminars for firefighters and other emergency personnel
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HHS to take charge of bioterror and epidemic response
Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act expected to be signed soon; DHS loses control of National Disaster Medical System; new biomedical research lab to be built; government plans a disease detection network
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DHS survey finds high rates of municipal interoperability
Almost two-thirds use compatible radios for some purpose, though day-to-day use lags; survey is the first to use a refined definition of interoperability; Chertoff points to study as proof that municipalities can change
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Frost and Sullivan offers report on WMD detection market
Business is booming, particularly in the federal sector; some end users, however, are shying away from the sometimes unreliable technology; research firm suggests industry needs better PR
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Super Thermal teams up with Colorado State for DHS grant
Team hopes for a $1 million grant for further development of cooling and breathing apparatus; system designed with biological and chemical emergencies in mind; cryogenic air a key component
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GreeneChip offers rapid diagnosis of 30,000 pathogens
Unlike systems that can only test blood samples, new technology can assay tissue, urine, and stool; from Marburg to urinary tract infections, Columbia University’s GreeneChip offers a fast and inexpensive testing regime
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